Sequel to Razzy Plush
by Smoke
Summary: The continued modernday adventures of Raziel and his human. Again, not as stupid as it sounds. It's got a bit of everything: humor, romance, action, angst. Janos, Kain, Magnus, multiple Raziels. [Last update before hiatus]
1. Restart

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references. Any screen-names I use are not intentional representations of fans, (unless stated otherwise.) This disclaimer applies to any and all chapters.

Because I have an overwhelming amount of ideas that I didn't get to in the original "Razzy Plush" story, I'm making a sequel. The end of the original was just a stopping point, I don't know how big a story can get here. I must warn you that even though I haven't run out of story ideas, I do not know how I'm going to manage ending this one without making it lamer than the stopping point. "sigh"

Review responses for the last chapter of "Razzy Plush"

Abbil: If I hadn't had technical problems, you would've seen it this morning. :)

Static-elf-of-insanity: Thanks for the compliment.

Varewulf: What else could I have done but a happy ending, er, stopping point? I don't guarantee that the next one will be like that. (I don't know myself, fear.)

Za HAMSTERFACE: You probably hate me for that other fiasco, then. (It's on my list to re-do, I swear.) It's why I found that spot to rest.

Tom T. Thomson: Great to hear that you've found a distraction.

The problem with stopping is that I had trouble getting it started again. It's going to take a chapter or two to get back into the rythym. The only things that I'm going to explain as flashbacks is some of the 'missing time' that I built into the original story, and that's only because I never explained them to begin with. Now I'm just going to leap into the middle of a typical day for Raziel and Jennifer.

* * *

"Hey Raziel, could you do me a favor and read off the list?" Jennifer asked. 

Raziel picked up a sheet of paper and slowly recited the names of the monsters that Jennifer had sewn. As he read, she put the stuffed toys into their box, getting them ready for shipping.

"Ten beholders, five chimeras, twenty displacer beasts, ten violet fungus, and five vargouilles," Raziel said, checking them off.

Jennifer shuddered as she tossed the last vargouille into the box. Those creepy severed heads had been more trouble than they were worth. She scribbled a note to the storeowner, notifying him that if he wanted any more of that particular monster, they were going to cost twice as much.

"Great, now all I need is the second part of his payment, and I can get these things shipped off," Jennifer said satisfactorily.

Raziel grabbed the key to the mailbox. "Maybe it's already here," he said as Jennifer pulled out the packing tape.

It took several minutes for Raziel to get the mailbox open; the key had a tendency to jam. He also could not avoid talking to the next-door neighbor, who swore that she was going to call the police next time she heard strange noises coming from Jennifer's apartment. Raziel wished he could just kill this annoying woman and be done with it.

When Raziel returned to the apartment, Jennifer was quietly talking on the telephone. "I understand, thank you," she said before she somberly set the receiver back into its cradle.

"My Aunt Clarissa is dead," Jennifer said.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Raziel said, fearing that Jennifer was about to get upset.

"Don't be. I only met her once," Jennifer said. Her tone was respectfully neutral. "She lived just across town. I went to see her when I moved here, but she had grown reclusive and eccentric. She just did not want anything to do with me."

"What did you do?" Raziel asked.

"I gave her my number and address and told her that if she ever needed my help, she only had to ask." Jennifer gave a ghost of a smile, "I guess it was a pointless gesture."

"It was a kind thing to do," Raziel pointed out.

Two days later, Jennifer had the task of taking her aunt's ashes back to the rest of the family for the funeral. "Are you sure that you're going to be okay here alone?" she asked Raziel.

"Only if you're going to be okay with doing this on your own," Raziel answered. "I don't think this is a good time to be introduced to your family."

"Another time would be better." Jennifer checked to make sure that the plastic wrap and tape was securely holding her Aunt's urn closed before carefully setting it in a cardboard box. "It's a shame that it's too far away for me to use a teleportation spell."

That evening, Raziel decided to spend some time flying. He still could not match Janos' skill in the air, and he doubted that he ever would, but Raziel was becoming more agile. When he turned back to the apartment, he noticed a strange shadow creep in through the balcony. Raziel silently glided down, expecting a fight. 

What Raziel hadn't expected was to find out that the shadow was that kid that had frightened Jennifer some time ago. "What are you doing here?" Raziel demanded as he tackled the kid.

The kid simply started screaming his head off.

"Quiet!" Raziel demanded, knowing that this would attract unwanted attention from that nosy neighbor. Raziel demonstrated remarkable restraint in not killing the frightened boy, but he also didn't learn anything.

Eventually, there was a pounding on the door. "This is the police, open up."

Raziel hissed in annoyance as the kid screamed again. He heard the men outside the door preparing to break it down, and Raziel decided that he had better let them in.

"This child was trespassing," Raziel explained to the police.

"What about you?" one of the officers asked.

"What are you implying?" Raziel asked, keeping his hostility in check.

"I need to see your identification," the officer said, "some sort of proof that you're supposed to be here."

Raziel did not like where this was going. "I do not have any identification, but I assure you that I do belong here."

"I'm afraid that you're both going to have to come with me," the officer said.

Raziel quickly came up with a simple plan. He locked the doors to the apartment and followed the officers outside. Then he began running. They foolishly tried to follow him, but Raziel was much faster, even in his human form. He hated running away, but Raziel was concerned that these men would cause trouble for Jennifer later if he killed any of them now.

Raziel returned to the apartment later with no trouble. He kept the lights off and the television's volume turned low. He didn't want those policemen to come back. Fortunately, the rest of the night and the next day were uneventful.

Jennifer returned that evening. She frowned as she listened to Raziel's tale. "You're going to love this bit of news then," she said. "It turns out that Aunt Clarissa left her house to me. We can move out of here and into a place where neighbors can't hear us through the walls."

"That would be great," Raziel grinned.

Later, Jennifer called into the police department, inquiring about the kid that had broken into her apartment. It turned out that he lived in the same building, and claimed that he was just looking for money. Jennifer had to assure them that she recognized Raziel's description and wasn't worried about his presence. She could not come up with a good reason for his lack of identification or shirt that night.

"There's one more thing," the policeman on the phone said.

"What's that?" Jennifer asked nonchalantly.

"The kid claimed that your man had wings," the policeman said.

Jennifer laughed easily and asked, "Have you checked him for drugs?"

The policeman joined her in laughing and said that he'd check into that.


	2. Moving

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

A/N: It's good to see new faces. I just hope the old ones have managed to find this. (Those of you who are already here, I know you're waiting until I get back to the good stuff.)

* * *

The next morning, Raziel and Jennifer headed for their new house. It was a long ride, and annoying because they had to switch buses in the middle of town. Then they had to walk several blocks from the nearest bus stop, but they still managed to get there before noon. The house sat at the end of a cul-de-sac, and there was nothing but forest behind it. 

Raziel went straight up to the house while Jennifer went over to the neighbor that was supposed to be holding the key. She did indeed have the key, but she was interested in chatting instead of just handing it over. She introduced herself as Martha Cunningham, but insisted on first names.

"Everyone here knows that place is haunted," Martha continued.

"We're not afraid," Jennifer said, finally getting the key from the neighbor.

The house itself was large and creepy with weathered gray siding and dirty windows. The untended bushes and weeds reinforced its neglected appearance.

"Are you sure you want to live here?" Raziel asked in distaste as he kicked at a glass bottle.

"It does need some work," Jennifer said appraisingly, "but just think of the advantages."

"What would those be?" Raziel asked as they stepped inside. The inside was in much better shape than the outside. The wallpaper was yellowed, and the carpet was worn, but it was relatively clean.

"Look at the yard, we're hundreds of feet away from the neighbors, and those bushes will give us all the privacy we need," Jennifer said. "And there is so much potential in here. We can paint the walls any color we want."

Raziel nodded in appreciation. "It does feel like a more comfortable space."

The pair explored the rest of the two-story house. It had an old-fashioned parlor and a formal dining room. The kitchen was in reasonable repair, and had a door to the dry basement. The house had a bathroom on each floor, and a total of eight rooms that could be used as sleeping quarters or whatever else they could think of. The attic was also suitable as a living space. Most of the rooms already had furniture in them, though much of it was unused and draped with dust covers.

"There's one thing that could either be a good thing or an annoyance," Jennifer said as they walked back down the stairs.

"What's that?" Raziel asked.

"This place has a bit of a reputation," Jennifer said. "The neighbors think this place is haunted."

"It's not," Raziel said, a slight humor coloring his voice.

Jennifer glanced at Raziel, but figured that he would be able to tell. "Still, I don't think we want to encourage any rumors about this place," she said. "I think that we should try to keep up appearances as a fairly normal couple."

"That doesn't sound too hard," Raziel said.

Jennifer went through the last door that they needed to explore, the one that led to the garage. Her eyes lit up as she saw the old van sitting there. "Oh, this is perfect. I think I can make a temporary warp gate to move the stuff, but if that van runs we can use it to make the neighbors think we moved normally."

Raziel's reply was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Curious, both he and Jennifer went to answer it. Another neighbor was standing on the porch, holding a struggling ten-year old by his shirt collar. She introduced herself as Madeline Surprise, and her son as Benjamin.

"I heard that you're the new owner of this house," Madeline said.

"Yeah, we're going to be moving in as soon as possible," Jennifer said.

"You're moving into the witch's house?" Ben blurted out.

"She wasn't a witch, she was my aunt, and I don't like it when people insult my family," Jennifer said curtly.

"I'm sorry," Madeline said. It wasn't clear if she was apologizing for her son's behavior or trying to be sympathetic for the death.

"I'd invite you in, but I'm afraid that I'd like a chance to make this place ready first," Jennifer said.

"It has been an eyesore for a while," Madeline said. "It's a shame that you couldn't just knock it down."

"This will be our home," Raziel broke in angrily. "I suggest that you mind your tongue when speaking of it or us."

Madeline was taken aback. She released her hold on her son, who stormed away as fast as his legs could carry him. She murmured a hasty goodbye and followed him at a calmer pace.

"Well, it's going to be quite a challenge to make friends with the neighbors," Jennifer said.

"Do we really have to?" Raziel asked.

"We have to try," Jennifer said. "If it doesn't work out, we can turn spooky and get them to keep their distance."

It took a lot of work and some coaxing to get the van started, but it finally turned over with a huge cloud of exhaust. After Jennifer pulled the van out, Raziel closed the garage door and hopped into the passenger seat. The van lurched and backfired as it left the driveway, but began running smoothly by the time they got down the street. He found that Jennifer was a little more cautious with the large vehicle, but her driving was still scary.

Jennifer had bought some pads that were meant for moving furniture. With Raziel's help, she managed to get them placed under the bookcase and entertainment center so they could be moved without clearing them off. The rest of the furniture also got the pads. When everything was ready, Jennifer created a temporary warp gate between her apartment and the house. Raziel quickly began shoving things through the gate, anxious at how long Jennifer was going to be able to keep it open.

There were several boxes left when Jennifer told Raziel to stop. She collapsed wearily to the floor. They both sat and gawked at how different the apartment looked without most of the stuff. Jennifer idly braided a feather she had found behind the bed into her hair. Even though her hair was dark, the feather's inky blackness still stood in contrast.

Raziel loaded the remaining boxes into the van while Jennifer took care of some last-minute details. Her landlord was all too eager to let her leave in the middle of her lease; he had been looking for a reason to evict someone, though the complaints he had gotten about her hadn't been quite good enough. He already had a couple that would pay a higher rent.


	3. Settling in

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

As Jennifer and Raziel settled into their new home, they found many things that had fallen to neglect. They had to start a list so they wouldn't forget anything. The overhead light in one of the upstairs bedrooms flickered and snapped when Jennifer turned it on; she immediately hit the switch and taped it in the 'off' position. Several tiles in the downstairs bathroom had fallen off the wall and were nowhere to be found. The pilot light on the stove was constantly going out, but this was listed as a minor problem that could be temporarily solved with matches. Likewise, the peeling wallpaper and worn carpet were put among the lowest concerns.

Fortunately, Raziel had decided to inspect the outside of the house as well. He stood with Jennifer in the back yard and said, "There are some damaged shingles on the roof. Fortunately, there isn't any sign of anything rotting."

"I guess that's the first priority, then," Jennifer said.

"Why do you think she let this place fall into disrepair?" Raziel asked.

"It's hard to tell," Jennifer said thoughtfully. "If these problems came up gradually, she might not have noticed how bad it got. That, or she just might not have been able to keep up on the maintenance."

Suddenly, Raziel noticed a dark shape moving through the overgrown weeds. He grabbed it hastily. Raziel then cried out as the small black and white creature squirmed out of his grasp. An overwhelmingly pungent smell filled the air. His eyes watered as his enhanced senses were barraged with the stench. He shifted to his wraith form in an attempt to escape it.

"Don't go into your plush form, it won't save you," Jennifer warned. "I'll be right back, get in that washtub."

Raziel did not answer; speaking would require breathing. He twitched in agony as he righted the basin she indicated. A moment later, Jennifer returned with a can of tomato juice. She muttered a few words over it and dumped it over Raziel's head. The can looked like it would hold a pint of juice at the most, but it inexplicably overflowed the washbasin.

Raziel settled into the cool red liquid. Now the smell was tolerable. "This feels familiar," he muttered as he let some of the juice flow through his claws. "What was that thing?"

"That was a skunk," Jennifer pointed out. "It would be wise not to annoy the wildlife."

"How long do I have to stay in here?" Raziel asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"I'm not sure," Jennifer said. "Just don't come back in the house until the smell's gone, or else it'll never go away."

Raziel shuddered as he sunk further into the tomato juice. He was very thankful that Jennifer knew how to neutralize the stink. He never wanted to smell anything like that ever again. Fortunately for Raziel, his soak in the tomato juice got rid of it quickly.

After he had dumped the juice into the weeds, Raziel asked Jennifer, "Am I to expect more of this 'wild life' to be invading this area?"

"It's not really an invasion, they've probably been here longer than we have," Jennifer said. "I'm sure they won't come so close to the house once we cut some of these plants away."

The neighbors were always curious about the couple living in the 'haunted' house. Jennifer had to keep convincing them that everything was fine, and that she'd have a housewarming party soon. She really wanted to get things cleaned up before she had people over.Raziel flew up to the roof, hauling a box of shingles and the necessary tools with him. Jennifer had gotten some books on home repair from the library, but had to accept a temp assignment to pay for the materials. Because of that, Raziel was left to do most of the actual work. He didn't mind, really. As a vampire lord it would've been beneath his dignity, but Raziel didn't feel that part of himself anymore. This work made him feel ordinary, and that was strangely comforting.

Something thumped behind Raziel, causing the roof to shake. He grabbed his box of nails to keep it from sliding off the edge and asked, "Did you have trouble finding this place, Janos?"

"Not at all," Janos answered. "Though I'm afraid this isn't just a social call."

"What's wrong?" Raziel asked.

"They fixed the clock," Janos groaned. "It's horrible."

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want," Raziel said, truly meaning it.

"Thank you," Janos said.

"What about that pain in the neck that's staying with you?" Raziel asked.

"I've set him lose," Janos said. "I do not know if Azrael is willing to behave, but I don't think I can do anything more for him."

Raziel thought carefully for a long moment. His personality had matured so much during his journey. Without that, he would still be wild and aggressive. "We can only hope," Raziel finally said.

Janos left then to get his belongings. Raziel finished repairing the roof and went back inside. Jennifer came home before Janos got back.

"I don't mind him staying here," Jennifer said after Raziel had explained the situation. "I thought you were the one who had a problem with it."

"I wanted you to myself," Raziel said. "I don't know what came over me."

Jennifer grinned seductively at Raziel and smooched the end of his nose. "You're cute when you're jealous."

Jennifer was making a roast beef sandwich when Janos returned. "Would you like one?" she offered.

Janos looked at the meat in disgust. "Do you have any tuna, or peanut butter?" he asked.

"Oh course," Jennifer said, giving the reformed vampire an odd look.

"Before the bloodcurse, we only ate fish and vegetables," Janos explained. "Even though I have killed countless people in my time; I feel that I should hold with tradition, now that I am free to do so."

""But why fish?" Raziel asked.

"Fish do not have feelings," Janos said self-assuredly.

"My brother would've disagreed with you," Raziel said. "He used to collect fish until an accident with the containers nearly killed him. I still don't know how he managed to get them in the first place."

"It seems like a very strange hobby indeed," Janos said.

Jennifer took the tunafish can directly out to the recycling bin. She jumped in fright as she saw Azrael leaning against a tree. "I suppose you're homeless now, too," she said.

"I've been homeless ever since I was brought here," Azrael said. "Though for now I have no place better to go."

"How do I know that you're not going to kill me?" Jennifer asked. There was no point in sugarcoating the question. She thought she knew what she was dealing with.

"I swear that I won't do anything to you," Azrael said.

Jennifer stared at him contemplatively for just a little too long.

Azrael jumped at the offense and began yelling angrily. "I swear on my honor! I swear on my blood, the blood of my sire, and the blood of my clan!" He paused to snarl angrily. "Is that good enough for you?"

"You can crash here," Jennifer said unemotionally as she turned back into the house.

Azrael followed several steps behind her. Raziel watched curiously as his twin entered the kitchen.

"He has sworn not to hurt me," Jennifer told Raziel.

Raziel nodded in approval. He couldn't remember a time when he had intentionally broken a promise.


	4. Interlude

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

The next morning, Jennifer woke up much earlier than she needed to. She wandered into the kitchen to find Janos and Raziel eating breakfast.

"You're up early," Raziel hummed around a mouthful of cereal.

"And you're eating for once," Jennifer observed groggily. "Have you ever considered becoming a ventriloquist?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Raziel remarked. "Speaking of dreams, I'm guessing that you had nightmares again. Azrael must be causing them."

"Why would Azrael being here cause me to dream about alien slime molds?" Jennifer asked. In answer to the confused stares, she continued. "They could only be seen when a special light caused them to start glowing, and they had this toxin that let them control people's minds. They had already gotten to the scientist that knew how to kill them. It was a hopeless situation, and they were attacking me."

"What could it possibly mean, then?" Janos asked. He set his spoon into his empty oatmeal bowl.

"It means that I need to stop drinking coffee before bedtime," Jennifer said.

Janos then rinsed out his bowl and woke Azrael. The angel mentioned something about 'good deeds' as they left.

Jennifer had already wandered down to the bus stop and been waiting for fifteen minutes before she checked her watch and saw that it was Saturday. By the time she'd walked back home, Raziel was busy re-wiring the bedroom light. Jennifer checked the list and busied herself with gluing the replacement tiles in the bathroom. She thought it was an odd effect, putting red tiles randomly in a white bathroom.

Jennifer jumped in fright as the lights flickered and a loud thump shook the floor. She ran into the bedroom to find Raziel sprawled unconscious in his wraith form. Jennifer fought down her panic as she kneeled by Raziel's side. The fire in his eyes had turned yellow and smoldered dimly.

After several tense minutes, Raziel twitched as the balefire in his skull returned to its normal brightness. "What happened?" he asked as he sat up.

"Thank goodness you're alright. You weren't breathing," Jennifer said. She calmed down and added, "You still aren't breathing."

"I remember that I was going to rewire the light," Raziel said, looking up at it.

"That's what you were doing," Jennifer said. "There must have been a short somewhere. Didn't you turn it off at the fuse?"

Raziel shrugged, "I'm afraid I don't even remember getting that ladder."

"I hope you didn't fry too many brain cells," Jennifer said worriedly.

A quick check with the fuse box confirmed that Raziel had not bothered to turn the circuit off. Fortunately, the breakers tripped before any serious damage was done. There were no more incidents until they got the light fixed.

Janos returned alone that afternoon.

"Where's Azrael?" Jennifer asked him.

"He said he had to take care of something," Janos said.

Everyone knew exactly when Azrael got back… 2 o'clock in the morning. He was riding a very noisy motorcycle.

"Where did you get that?" Raziel demanded.

"Originally, I won it in a fight," Azrael said smugly. "Tonight, I had to claim it from someone who had been taking care of it for me."

"In other words, you beat someone up to get it back," Raziel said.

"There are pockets of culture here that I can relate to," Azrael said. "Honestly, I don't see how you put up with what they call civilization."

"I find it refreshing," Raziel retorted. "We didn't know what we were missing in the days of the empire."

"There are some advantages to this world, I admit that." Azrael ran his hand possessively over his motorcycle.

"If you want the 'advantage' of living here, you'll keep that thing quiet while the rest of the neighborhood is sleeping," Raziel warned.

Azrael's only answer to this was a sneering grin that displayed his prominent fangs. Raziel did not return the gesture, he merely quirked an eyebrow to indicate that he was not impressed by the half-implied threat.

Once the sun was up, Jennifer decided to lay down a set of magical wards to protect the house. Inside the fence line, she set a subtle field that would cause a queasy sense of dread on any intruder. The sidewalk was the only place where the uninvited wouldn't feel the foreboding. Jennifer felt justified in setting more aggressive wards on the windows. She was experimenting with the spell when Janos wandered behind her.

"Do you really expect someone would try entering through the window?" Janos asked.

"It's a very popular method for thieves," Jennifer said distractedly as she considered the enchantment.

Janos dragged one claw down the glass as he examined what Jennifer had done. Suddenly, the pane seemed to explode, tearing across Janos' face.

"Oh no!" Jennifer cried.

Janos' face instantly healed. "It is too aggressive," he said disapprovingly.

Jennifer unsuccessfully tried to adjust the spell. The exploding glass was only an illusion, but it was still bound to kill someone.

Janos easily fixed the spell so that it wouldn't go off until the window was opened from the outside.

"You're still young," Janos assured her. "I'm surprised that you were able to accomplish what you've already done. With time and dedication, you will be able to accomplish anything."

"You're scaring me again," Jennifer said.

Janos frowned. "What do you intend to do? If you want to live a magical life, you must commit yourself."

Jennifer leaned against the weathered siding of the house. She hugged herself in mild anxiety. "What did you want to be when you grew up, Janos?"

"I did not expect to be anything," Janos said sadly. "So many of us had fallen during the wars, and I was just another soldier."

"I'm sorry," Jennifer said.

"It's okay. I had always accepted what fate brought me," Janos said as he laid his arm against Jennifer's shoulders in a comforting gesture.

"I can't be like that," Jennifer whispered. Her voice regained its strength, "But you're right, I do need more practice."

They both were silent as Jennifer worked on setting the trap on the next window. This time, she managed to get it right the first time.

"There is something that I've been meaning to ask you," Janos said.

"What's that," Jennifer answered.

"When you first brought me here, you said that there was no more blood curse. It puzzles me that Azrael would still be affected," Janos said.

"I don't have a simple explanation for that, but I'll try," Jennifer said slowly. She paused in thought for a moment, then asked, "Did you like preying on humans?"

Janos flared his wings in shock and anger, "Of course not! I hated myself every time I had to feed."

"I'm not judging you," Jennifer said, holding her hands up in a sign of surrender. "You're not bound by the rules you used to live by. When I told you that you didn't need blood, you released yourself from that part of your nature."

"What about Azrael? Didn't you tell him?" Janos asked.

"Of course. It's probably because he's never known anything else," Jennifer supposed.

"But he used to be human," Janos said.

"He doesn't remember that life, he's only been told," Jennifer said.

"What about Raziel? He seems to have adapted well." Janos said.

"He's had some practice in that," Jennifer answered.


	5. Answers pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

* * *

It turned out that the stove could not be easily repaired. Raziel felt that it was best not to mess with the gas anyway, since his incident with the electricity went badly. Most of the remaining repairs to the house were simple; things like tightening screws and putting in nails.

Azrael was rarely at the house. He usually came back only to sleep, and then left again when he woke up. Somehow, he managed to time his comings and goings so that he didn't disturb the neighbors too much with his motorcycle.

Janos took a day off from being the town's 'guardian angel' and instead helped Raziel paint the rooms that desperately needed it. He even managed to secure Azrael's reluctant assistance.

"I still don't see why I should be involved in this," Azrael said in distaste.

"Raziel and Jennifer have been kind enough to offer us shelter. It's the least we can do," Janos said, handing Azrael a roller.

"I appreciate the help, but I didn't expect anything in return. You've already done enough," Raziel insisted.

Janos grabbed Azrael by the collar to keep him from leaving. Azrael sneered threateningly, but he was ignored.

"There is one thing that troubles me," Janos commented once they got started. "I am led to believe that I was dead long before you were turned. How then were you able to find me?"

"I kept hopping through time," Raziel said. As an afterthought he added, "If I had any control over my journey, I would have come to you sooner."

Janos murmured softly, "I still believe in destiny."

"If you're thinking that's what led him to you," Azrael began, "remember that Kain told us the old legends of how you terrorized..."

"Enough," Raziel and Janos both said simultaneously. Surprisingly, Raziel's voice was louder and angrier than Janos'.

"Destiny, coincidence, and careful choreography," Raziel said, his voice dripping with unwillingness to explain further.

After they had finished painting, Janos remarked, "I still find it hard to believe that we're leaving the walls one solid color."

"No murals," Raziel said sternly. "We have some nice posters to put up when the paint is dry."

Janos and Raziel were washing the brushes out with the hose when Jennifer came home. Azrael had managed to run away before the cleanup began.

"I feel so bad now. Here you are doing all this work and I'm not around to help," Jennifer said.

"I know you're working to pay for the repairs," Raziel said.

"Well I'm here now, so I might as well help you clean up," Jennifer said, bending down to the brushes.

They had just laid the brushes out to dry when a lone figure strode up to the house.

"What brings you here, Kain?" Raziel asked.

"My travels have simply brought me here. If I may impose on your hospitality for a few days, I shall be on my way again," Kain stopped as if he just noticed something. "You've regrown your wings," he said in mild surprise.

Raziel stubbornly kept his wings squeezed against his back. "I still don't forgive you for ruining them."

"No, I don't suppose you would," Kain said unemotionally.

Janos stood and approached Kain. "You were the one who did that to him?"

"I had my reasons," Kain answered.

"Then I suggest you explain yourself," Janos said.

"If I hadn't destroyed him, he never would have been able to accomplish his task," Kain said.

Raziel laid a hand on Janos' shoulder, "I understand why he did it. That is enough."

Janos' mouth was set in a grim line, but his eyes betrayed a sense of confused sadness.

Raziel and Jennifer went back inside the house, leaving Janos and Kain alone to talk. Gradually, threads of their conversation could be heard as they began arguing.

"I finally learned to embrace the gifts that vampirism had brought me," Kain said. "We had indeed become gods!"

"The blood curse wasn't the gift. It tainted the divinity that we tried to bestow," Janos retorted.

The rest of the exchange was muffled until Kain yelled, "washout!"

"That's it!" Janos yelled back.

Jennifer and Raziel ran out of the house just as Janos grabbed Kain by the wrists and lunged into the air. Raziel unfolded his wings, but Jennifer put an arm across his chest. "I don't think you want to get involved," she said tersely. They both watched helplessly as Janos hauled Kain into the sky.

After a tense moment, Kain transformed into a flock of bats and landed safely on the ground. Janos dove down after him. Raziel took a few steps towards the combatants, but he knew that he was barely a match for either of them.

"Stop it," Jennifer yelled at them.

When they ignored her, Jennifer made a motion with her hands. Both Janos and Kain reverted to their plush forms. They immediately stopped struggling. Janos was in shock because this was the first time he had really seen his true body. Kain was only worried because he knew how fragile cloth could be. It took less than ten seconds for them to return to their normal flesh forms. They both glared silently at Jennifer; she returned their look defiantly.

Kain broke the silence. "You're still not at all like the vampire I remember."

"We've never met before," Janos said in slight confusion.

Kain turned on Jennifer, "You didn't give him all of his memories?"

"You're the one who didn't want him revived," Jennifer snapped.

"Fool girl!" Kain spat. "It happened!"

Raziel leapt between the arguers, "That's enough."

"Is it true?" Janos asked.

"It's my fault," Jennifer told him. "You do have missing memories."

"What happened?" Janos asked.

"Nothing good," Jennifer said sadly.

"She can restore your memories," Raziel said. "I shouldn't have let her keep them from you."

Jennifer shrunk away from Janos' hurt look. "Are you sure you want to remember what happened? Kain and Raziel can tell you just about everything."

"I want to remember," Janos said.

"This will hurt," Jennifer warned as she touched Janos' forehead.

Janos closed his eyes as he gained 400 years worth of lost history. His pain was not physical, as he had thought it would be. He winced at the horrors that he had lived through. The visions faded on the moment where he was leaping to attack the Sarafan Lord.

"Why did you stop? What happened?" Janos demanded.

"You fell," Jennifer whispered. "I doubt they would've killed you."

Janos trembled in shock as he realized what that meant. "It all went wrong!" he cried as he lunged into the air.


	6. Answers pt 2

  
  
Raziel took off after Janos, but the angel had not gotten very far. Janos was perched sullenly on the peak of the roof; his wings and shoulders drooped, and his hands dangled loosely between his knees. 

"Why did you not tell me about this sooner?" Janos asked.

"I was going to," Raziel said, "but Jennifer convinced me that you wouldn't be able to handle too many surprises at once."

"I killed you," Janos said, his voice surged with anger and guilt.

"No you didn't," Raziel argued. "I think I should explain."

Raziel began telling Janos about his execution and how the Elder God had resurrected him to be a devourer of souls. He explained how he could pass into the spectral realm at will and use the portals to return to the physical.

"Do you see now?" Raziel asked. "That final jolt only knocked me back into the spectral realm. Besides, it was against your will."

"Then where were you?" Janos desperately asked. "Why weren't you there when our enemy again set foot on Nosgoth?"

"That's not what I was for," Raziel said. "My destiny was to be imprisoned in the Reaver until I went insane, then bound to my own arm in a never-ending cycle."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea that would happen to you," Janos choked.

"I know," Raziel said. After a pause, he said, "I didn't know then what you would be condemned to, either."

Janos and Raziel sat in meditative silence as they watched the sun slip below the horizon.

"I shouldn't have kept anything from you," Raziel said softly.

"No, Jennifer was right," Janos sighed wearily. "I do not think I would have kept my sanity if you had told me everything at once."

"There's many things left," Raziel warned.

Janos winced. "Surely they can wait. I've had enough surprises for one night."

Raziel nodded sagely. "I'll tell you whenever you're ready. Eventually, you will know everything."

"Why are you willing to let Kain rest here?" Janos asked.

Raziel took a moment to think. "Telling him to leave would be more trouble than it's worth. He'll be gone again soon enough."

"Azrael has told me about the empire. Then I learn that Kain was the one who caused your suffering. And I've seen first hand how little remorse he shows for his actions," Janos said.

"I realize that he doesn't have a moral code, at least it's not one that we would easily recognize," Raziel said. "He had a destiny as well."

"What would that be?" Janos asked, wondering if he really wanted to know.

Raziel stared Janos straight in the eye for a moment before saying, "Kain's the Scion of balance."

Janos sat frozen in shock. Unlike his undead progeny, Janos did need to breathe, but now his breath caught in his throat. After a moment, his lungs unfroze, and Janos began muttering in his original language again. Occasionally, words like "impossible," and "doomed," would emerge from Janos' incomprehensible monolog. After a couple minutes of this, Janos ran out of words.

Janos and Raziel both sat in silence again. This time, it was Janos who broke it. "I should have known."

"Don't blame yourself, Janos," Raziel said. "I doubt even Kain realized it at the time."

Janos grimaced as his bewilderment became too much for him to bear, though he also began to see how the puzzle could be unraveled. "We will discuss this further in the morning," he said as he stood and then flew off the roof.

* * *

Kain sat on the porch, seeming to be lost in thought. He idly swirled a red liquid in a glass goblet. Jennifer gave him a critical look as she gathered the now-dry paintbrushes. 

"It's wine," Kain told her. "I can't tolerate food."

"Do you still drink blood?" Jennifer asked.

"Only when it is offered," Kain said. "I wouldn't want to disappoint my admirers."

"At least in that aspect," Jennifer reminded him.

"I will not encourage their misconceptions of me," Kain said. "However, I do see fit to continue in my accustomed habits."

"I suppose some of them would be crushed if they found out that you're not the vicious fiend they thought you were," Jennifer said in resignation.

Kain turned in curiosity at the sound of a motorcycle puttering into the driveway.

"That would be Azrael," Jennifer said.

Kain set his glass aside and stood up. "You must excuse me. I would have words with my wayward childe."

Azrael was surprised to find Kain standing in the garage. He stood at attention and humbly said, "My Lord."

Kain strode up to Azrael. "Why didn't you stay where I put you?"

Azrael did not show any emotion, but inwardly he wanted to back away. "Forgive me, but I would have grown weak in that insufferable woman's care." Azrael knew that he had done something regrettable. Now he would have to deal with the consequences.

"I had intended to find someplace more suitable for you," Kain mused. "I suppose you managed to do that on your own."

Azrael let himself relax slightly. He had unconsciously braced himself for a blow that never came. Kain casually ran an index claw down the side of Azrael's face. Though it didn't cause any damage, Azrael hated it because it made him feel like a possession.

"Remember where your loyalties lie," Kain warned. "I may not tolerate your disobedience again." Kain drew his claw away quickly, causing a momentary scratch on Azrael's perfect face.

Azrael curled his lip in the beginning of a snarl, but the expression did not go any further. He was pleased to see a hint of the emperor's old strength returning.

Kain casually sauntered around Azrael's motorcycle. "You seem to have adapted quite well to this world."

"It is an interesting device," Azrael said noncommittally.

"Tell me how it works," Kain said, examining it with a critical eye.

Azrael began explaining how to control the bike. Though Azrael had also learned how to perform minor repairs, he had never known Kain to be overly interested in how machines actually worked.

Kain nodded in approval, satisfied with the knowledge he had gained.


	7. Answers pt 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

The next morning, Jennifer went ahead and brewed Janos' tea for him. He wandered downstairs a couple minutes later, his hair and feathers tousled in evidence of a restless night. Janos took the entire pot and sat on the porch in irritated silence.

Raziel followed a few minutes later and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Don't bother Janos," Jennifer warned. "I think he's beginning to crack."

"I think I told him too much at once," Raziel said guiltily.

"Maybe not. It might have been a cumulative effect," Jennifer said. "No matter how much time you took, you were still destroying his reality."

"I shouldn't have asked you to bring him here," Raziel said, sadly gazing into his coffee mug.

"Hey, he's a survivor," Jennifer reminded Raziel. "I doubt a little thing like the truth is going to bring him down."

"I hope you're right," Raziel said.

Some time later, Raziel decided to check on the old angel.

"I don't care if you've discovered that you're the reincarnation of Ahura Mainyu, I'm not in the mood," Janos said.

Raziel was stunned. "I just wanted to know if you needed anything, like more tea or something," he muttered.

Janos huffed as he shook his head slightly.

"I'm sorry," Raziel said as he walked away, "for everything."

.  
.

When Jennifer came home, Raziel almost crashed into the ground in his haste to get off the roof.

"Janos has disappeared," Raziel said.

"Are you sure he's not just doing whatever he normally does during the day?" Jennifer asked.

"Well," Raziel faltered. He actually didn't know, but he feared the worst.

"It's going to be difficult to track him, but let's try some mundane methods first," Jennifer suggested.

Jennifer pulled out the phonebook and scanned through the yellow pages. She confidently dialed one of the numbers.

"Who seeks the wisdom of Madame Obscura?" asked the voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey Diana, has Janos visited you today?" Jennifer asked.

"Who is this?" she demanded, her voice taking on a more ordinary tone.

"This is Jennifer," she said. "Janos is staying in my house, but he wasn't completely stable this morning."

"I haven't heard from him today," Diana said, "but if he's having a crisis then he's probably gone to Bernard."

"Do you know how to find Bernard, then?" Jennifer asked.

"I'm afraid I don't," Diana said.

"Thanks," Jennifer said before hanging up the phone. She turned to Raziel and said, "Diana thinks he's with the theologian. I think it's time to call Janos' cell phone."

That plan proved unsuccessful as they heard right away that Janos had left the battered device behind.

"You can still track him, can't you?" Raziel asked. "I really think that we should make sure that he's okay."

Jennifer grabbed the keys to the van. "We'll go look for Janos," she said. "I have a feeling that you're not going to stop whining until we've found him."

"I do not whine," Raziel said.

The search was much more harrowing than it needed to be. Jennifer could barely sense Janos' presence at all, and it was nearly impossible to try it while driving. Many of her direction choices were simple guesswork. Other times, Jennifer would change her mind at the last minute and turn from the wrong lane. It was a mild miracle that no one was hurt. Jennifer finally parked outside the cemetery that Janos had fled to during his first night on Earth.

"That's interesting," Jennifer commented.

Janos was sitting on a stone bench, gazing sorrowfully at the statue of an angel. "The lore of this world has so many disturbing similarities to the lingering history in Nosgoth," Janos murmered. His eyes never left the stone being.

Raziel gave the statue a glance, then turned his gaze back to Janos. Raziel approached cautiously, unsure of what to say. Finally, he settled on, "Are you all right?"

"I still find comfort in speaking to statues. It is not a sign of madness," Janos said. "You act as if I'm not going to recover, but this too shall pass."

"What do you mean?" Raziel asked.

"There were many times when I felt that there was no hope," Janos explained. "Something always came to rekindle it."

"I think I can explain most of what happened," Raziel suggested.

Janos nodded. "And I am ready to hear more."

"There's something that I should have told you from the very beginning," Raziel began. "It is completely my fault that you had to endure losing your heart."

"You could not have known that you would be followed," Janos said.

"That's not it," Raziel said feverishly, "not entirely." Raziel unsuccessfully tried to calm down, but instead lost control of his form. Raziel was reliving that moment when he discovered that he was the one who had torn Janos' heart from his body.

Janos was aware of how Raziel's emotional state could cause him to return to a destroyed wraith. The old angel waited patiently for an explanation.

"It's not just that I led them straight to you," Raziel said, balling up his claws in anger. "I also…" He faltered. Raziel screwed his eyes shut for a moment before blurting. "I was one of them."

Janos tilted his head in curiosity and confusion. "You were one of the sarafan?" he questioned.

"I was the sarafan that tore the heart from your body," Raziel wailed.

Janos did not say anything for a long moment. Finally, he spoke. "I thought so."

Raziel sat in stunned silence. He recovered and asked, "How did you find out? When?"

Janos held up one talon. He was intending to lay that talon over Raziel's lips to silence him, but he realized that the scarf prevented him from doing it gracefully. Janos still wasn't sure what Raziel was trying to hide. "I think I had always suspected something, but it didn't make sense until recently."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Raziel asked.

"I couldn't be sure, and you never mentioned it," Janos said.

Raziel turned away, overridden with guilt. He knew he had been selfish in keeping that truth to himself for so long.

"Is it true that you don't remember?" Janos asked.

"I had discovered my past, but I didn't know what I had done to you until I witnessed it," Raziel said morosely.

Janos let off a gravelly sigh. "I forgive you."

Raziel blinked in surprise. "Thank you," he breathed.

"I am curious about one thing," Janos pondered aloud. "When you revived me, you said it wasn't a benevolent act."

"I was angry at the time," Raziel said uncomfortably. "I had good intention when I first vowed to restore you, and I didn't forget that. It's just… I wasn't ready to face my destiny."

"What about Kain? That creature said that you murdered him," Janos said.

"I did." Raziel said. "Mortainious used your heart to turn him into a vampire."

Janos grimaced slightly at that.

"Somehow, he managed to survive," Raziel continued.

"The last hope of Nosgoth in the hands of power-hungry tyrant," Janos muttered.

"The entire circle was corrupted. I finally managed to heal him," Raziel said. "Besides, there's a bigger plot going on, and Kain is good at deciphering them."

Janos was thoughtfully silent.

"Come back to the house," Raziel suggested. "It's more comfortable than this place."

Raziel and Janos walked out of the cemetery together. Jennifer had waited on top of the wall in case she was needed. She lightly dropped down on the outside when she saw the pair coming.

"Hop in," Jennifer invited, opening the doors to the van.

"I have seen what happens when these things run into each other," Janos said. "And I have heard about your driving skills."

"I'm a good driver," Jennifer retorted.

All she got in return was a pair of odd stares.

"I'll meet you back at the house," Janos told Raziel after a moment.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Varewulf, who gave my writer's block a good swift kick. (And broke his toe on it, but the block did start to move.)

A/N: Am I done torturing Janos? Sigh, maybe. I didn't realize how bad it would get for him when I decided to use him. The problem is that I can't put him through any unnecessary problems because I'm too busy getting through the necessary ones.

A/N: I realize that Kain wouldn't use the word "washout," but I couldn't get any insult to fit.


	8. Cards

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

* * *

Smoke: All right, I just realized that I haven't done a good review response.

Raziel: Maybe that's why people have stopped reviewing.

Smoke: No, I'm not the only one who's having problems. I think almost everyone is being a good student right now. They'll be back in a while.

Raziel: Do you realize what it's going to do to your fragile self-esteem if they never come back?

Smoke: Yes. (sigh) And now, in the order of newest to oldest, review responses. Some actual answers apply to people that they're not aimed at. I apologize if I lost anyone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Varyssa : I love your enthusiasm. Btw, congrats on getting to the first one.

Varewulf: I really love your comments, complaints, anything that provokes thought. Thanks for helping me.

Deepcoiler: I go where my inspiration takes me. I will be bringing new chars, I think. It depends on my mood.

E.H : Yay, another Janos fan. I like Janos almost as much as I like Raziel. I kinda feel bad about how much pathos I'm laying on the guy, but Raziel's had enough.

Tom T. Thomson: Congrats on the new equipment.

Static-elf-of-insanity: I'm glad I made someone feel good. That seems to be the point of this community.

BearVsChris: Thanks for letting Varewulf know that I updated. I'm still trying to figure out how to use the house to its full potential. (Mostly it's an excuse to have everyone living together, the apartment was too small.)

Servatis: Thanks for the pounce.

Hylden Revenant: Senseless violence can be fun, but yeah, it can get boring.

A/N: As for the motorcycle thing… I find myself throwing in things and images just in case I need to use them, or because I think they're cool. I guess it's a round-about way of telling the story. I'm sure I wouldn't get away with it in a professional piece. As it is, I'm glad to provide some entertainment and ease for those who crave more time with Raziel.

Btw, I think I'm starting to lighten up on Janos. Hopefully.

* * *

Janos and Raziel had settled into the parlor. Janos rubbed his temples wearily as he absorbed everything he had been told recently.

"Is it too much?" Raziel asked in concern.

"No, I'm just tired," Janos said. "I want to know everything."

Raziel said. "I would not like to see you destroyed by the truth."

"I doubt that there is anything you could say now that would affect me too badly," Janos conceded.

"Maybe," Raziel reflected.

Janos said, "Azrael has told me about the necromancy, but I still find it odd that there was anything left to raise after so long."

"The only thing I remember from that day was the pain of being resurrected," Raziel admitted. "Though I've noticed that exsanguination has a way of preserving a corpse."

"How would you know that?" Janos asked in surprise.

"I did reclaim the Reaver, and I had a chance to use it before I found out what would happen to me," Raziel said. "You did say it would drain an enemy's lifeblood."

Janos gawked as he put the pieces together. "You…"

"I killed them all," Raziel said in a neutral tone.

Janos sighed. "Your destiny seems to be more labyrinthine than anyone could have supposed. I don't know what to make of it."

"It was hard to figure out," Raziel said.

"At one point, I thought that you were the other champion," Janos admitted.

"There was no other champion. I was everyone's pawn." Raziel balled his fists in anger as he remembered how easily he fell to manipulation.

Janos noticed Raziel's emotional state. "Perhaps it is you who has had enough, for now."

They walked into the kitchen to find Jennifer and Kain sitting at the table. Various chess pieces were scattered in front of the pair, and Jennifer was staring at them intently. "I still don't see what you were trying to accomplish," Jennifer spat. "There's no way you could ever have gotten it to work." 

"It would have," Kain asserted crossly.

"But it didn't," Jennifer said, knocking one of the pawns over. "Not the way you describe."

"Are we interrupting anything?" Janos asked the two.

"The discussion is over," Kain scowled.

"It makes sense, why Jennifer said that you were the one who didn't want me revived," Janos said. "You must have thought that you would need to die for me to live once again."

"Actually, he didn't know anything," Raziel said.

"I still don't know how I managed to survive," Kain mused.

"You must have a soft spot," Jennifer said. "You did manage to win in the end."

Kain gave Jennifer an infuriated stare. "You obviously don't know the full consequences of that change to history. Do you realize how much of my army was killed in that ambush?" Kain grimaced. "Don't forget that they have him now. I'm not yet certain what effect that could have in the future."

Janos shifted his weight uncomfortably, "I will not help them willingly."

Everyone was somber for a moment. All four of them knew that Janos had already served the Hylden unwillingly.

In an effort to shake off the bad mood, Jennifer proposed a game of cards. It was a good distraction that would still allow for conversation.

Once they got started Janos said, "Raziel, you told me that Vorador was dead."

"I thought he was," Raziel answered.

"I watched him die with my own eyes," Kain confirmed. "He refused to tell me how he managed to return. I'm surprised that he didn't tell you."

"There was no time," Janos said.

"You seem to know most of the details," Raziel told Jennifer.

"No one knows the answer to that mystery," Jennifer said as she laid down her cards in triumph. "Though that's one theory out the window."

Kain stared at her hand. "You are stacking the deck," he accused.

"Luck runs in streaks," Jennifer insisted.

"We'll see about that," Kain snarled as he took the cards and shuffled them.

"You have the ability to pull Vorador out, don't you?" Raziel asked Jennifer.

"I could," Jennifer answered carefully.

"You won't," Janos ordered. "I miss him greatly, but he would not be happy here."

Jennifer nodded her agreement to this.

Kain growled as Jennifer won the next round as well.

"I told you, Albino Elf," she said.

Kain paused in wonder. "What do you see?"

Jennifer became coy. "I see a crusty old emperor who will not remove his crown."

"Then why did you call me that?" Kain asked.

Jennifer sighed. "It's just a name that I've heard them use."

Kain handed the deck to Raziel. "Be glad that your disguise is stronger than my illusions. Those fanatics have a tendency to see me no matter what I do."

"Do they have names for us?" Janos asked.

"I don't know any for you," Jennifer said thoughtfully.

"What about me?" Raziel asked.

"None," Jennifer chirped in a way that said, 'many.'

Raziel held the cards, his look saying, 'I am not dealing until you tell me.'

"Other than how fun it is to mangle your name?" Jennifer asked meekly.

Raziel calmly fiddled with the deck.

"Blue cockroach," Jennifer muttered unenthusiastically.

Raziel rolled his eyes and dealt out the hand.

The next round of cards progressed with predictable results.

"We are going to play until your lucky streak ends," Kain said determinedly.

"On one condition," Jennifer said, rooting around in the refrigerator. She produced a glass jar. "Have a pickled pepper."

"You know that I don't care for eating," Kain said.

"Exactly," Jennifer said. "I have a feeling that we're going to be here half the night, so I'm putting a price on it."

"That seems like a small cost," Raziel said. "I'll try one, too." He delicately plucked a pepper from the proffered jar.

Kain took a pepper, "I don't trust you."

"Big surprise," Jennifer said flatly. "I'm not trying to poison you." She pointedly fished a pepper from the jar and ate it.

Raziel and Kain both ate their peppers before Janos had a chance to get one. Raziel gave a chocking gasp as he spit out the slice and immediately shifted to his wraith form. Kain pounded the table in surprise and bit into his own wrist to relieve the pain.

Janos noticed their reactions and dropped his jalapeno back into the jar in alarm.

Jennifer began laughing and coughing and she started pouring glasses of milk.

"What creature in its right mind would eat that," Raziel growled, thankful for once that he didn't have a tongue.

Jennifer didn't answer for a moment. She was holding the milk in her mouth to wash away the caustic oils. Kain had taken a glass and followed her example.

Raziel considered the glass he had been given. He decided that he had already found the best solution.

"Some people actually like the way that feels," Jennifer said.

"Do you?" Raziel asked.

"Nope, but it was worth it just to see the look on Kain's face." Jennifer giggled slightly. "I'm not going to be able to taste anything for a week."

Kain growled as he took another sip of milk.

"I've been wondering... why do you keep your face covered?" Janos asked Raziel.

Raziel sighed. "I have nothing to hide." He pulled his cowl away momentarily.

"Oh," Janos said in mild surprise.

Raziel wordlessly readjusted his scarf.

Jennifer shuffled the cards and dealt another hand. Fortunately, her winning streak was at an end.


	9. Homemaking

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

That weekend, the house could finally be considered as presentable. Jennifer invited the neighbors over so they could see that the supposed 'haunted house' really wasn't. Jennifer temporarily disabled the wards around the property. Kain, Azrael, and Janos all went away for the day.

Only about a dozen of the neighbors showed up; not counting the children who left once they discovered that there was nothing interesting about the building that they had feared for so long. Raziel bore the intrusion well, but found every single guest to be absolutely boring.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" Jennifer asked him after everyone had left.

"They seem friendly enough," Raziel conceded.

"All except for that guy that lives at the mouth of the street; he's a bit of a racist," Jennifer said.

Raziel frowned in confusion, "I thought humans were the only race here, except for us plushies."

Jennifer nodded, "It's mostly a matter of skin color. That's how you can tell what country someone's ancestors came from. A racist is someone who hates people based on that one detail."

"The clans did have a strong sense of pride in their heritage, but I had never heard of any animosity based on that," Raziel said. "The only reason why vampires ever fought amongst themselves in the first place was because it got boring once the most aggressive humans were wiped out."

"Charming," Jennifer commented dully. "I guess it was nice to have problems like that."

Raziel did not answer that. He refused to be apologetic for his nature, especially when Jennifer knew. Furthermore, Raziel realized that if he started an argument about it, there was a good chance that Jennifer would steer the conversation into a descending spiral of absurdity.

There were still several hours of daylight left, so Jennifer and Raziel decided to spend them working in the yard. Jennifer began cutting away bushes and weeds. She piled them at the back of the property. Raziel washed the windows, whose wards were still disabled.

"Look what I found," Jennifer said, holding something cupped in her hands. 

Raziel eyed the little ball of black and white fur and stepped back in fear. "What is that?"

"It's a kitten," Jennifer grinned. "There's nothing dangerous about it."

"It's just for a moment I thought… never mind," Raziel said as he took the small creature. It howled in protest and clawed at his hands.

"Isn't it cute? There's a whole nest of them under the shed," Jennifer said.

Raziel let Jennifer take the kitten back from him. "It's got fangs and claws under that fur," he said.

Jennifer ignored him as the kitten struggled out of her grasp. Somehow she managed not to get scratched. "I want to tame them."

"Is it tamable?" Raziel asked skeptically.

"All we need to do is feed them," Jennifer said as she scooped the kitten up and carried it back to its nest.

The next morning, Raziel surveyed Jennifer's handiwork in the yard. "There's finally room to spar out here." 

"So you'll finally teach me how to fight?" Jennifer asked excitedly.

"I told you I would," Raziel said. He thought back to his survey of practice areas. Jennifer's apartment had been too small, and any other place would draw too much unwanted attention. He had only been able to show Jennifer some basic moves for times of desperation.

Raziel found two wooden poles. They looked like they were the handles of some tools, but they would serve well enough.

"Staffs?" Jennifer questioned in disappointment.

"One, you're way too clumsy to be trusted with a blade," Raziel said. "Two, those things you call swords would break too easily."

"Fine," Jennifer said.

After several hours, Jennifer had progressed remarkably well. She had remembered something from an old self-defense class and almost managed to score a hit on Raziel.

"That was a dirty trick," Raziel said disapprovingly.

"Think about it. Just about anyone I'm likely to encounter is going to be bigger and stronger than I am." Jennifer said. "Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."

Raziel had to admit that he was working with a different set of ideals than Jennifer. In addition, there were very few individuals that stood a chance against him. He conceded that her safety was probably more important. Raziel sighed, "I suppose I can overlook your cowardice."

Jennifer twirled the weapon, but it slipped and the staff ricocheted off her forehead.

Once Raziel determined that Jennifer hadn't actually hurt herself, he said, "Yeah, you don't stand a chance."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Jennifer scowled as she scratched her arm. She paused as she noticed the rash that was developing. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Raziel asked.

"There must have been some poison ivy in those weeds," Jennifer said. "I've got some stuff that should take care of this rash."

"It's not going to do you any serious harm, will it?" Raziel asked.

"No, it's just going to be uncomfortable for a while," Jennifer said. She suddenly thought of something. "Don't burn the brush pile. It will be serious if that stuff gets into anyone's lungs."

Raziel was talking to Kain about some small matter when Jennifer came stalking back out of the house.

"Did you find what you needed?" Raziel asked, sensing that perhaps Jennifer was annoyed.

"That goo isn't for when the skin is already broken," Jennifer said stiffly.

"How inconvenient it must be to have an allergy to a plant," Kain said smugly.

"Then I suppose that whole garlic thing really is a myth," Jennifer said.

"That isn't the only inconsistency," Kain answered.

* * *

Smoke: Yay, I got some reviews this time. You people made me happy.

Raziel: See what happens when you ask for them?

Smoke: It's all good as long as I'm not begging.

Raziel: Then what's that announcement you have in your hand?

Smoke: This isn't begging, this is bribing.

Raziel: Gee, what's that going to do to your fragile self-esteem?

Smoke: I have an announcement. I'm planning a fan invasion of my story. Though it won't be for several chapters yet, I still need a sound-off of people who are still alive (or just conscious) and want to visit my fic.


	10. Playing Games

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

A/N: This sentence contains a self-spoiler in addition to a game spoiler warning. "Playing Games" is a mini-story where the characters comment on what happens in the game. I realize that it's a bit choppy, and perhaps a bit hard to understand if you haven't played Soul Reaver 1, Soul Reaver 2, and Defiance. It would be much longer and very boring, I think, if I did a complete walkthrough. There are a lot of comments that the characters make that I didn't write down here. There's another version of this mini-story that is more like 3,800 words instead of 2,500, but I was getting bored with it so I chopped away everything that I didn't feel was absolutely necessary to the bigger story. The longer version of "Playing Games" is posted as its own story.

Later, Raziel watched as Jennifer once again moved to scratch her arm, but she instead clenched her hand over the bandages in frustration.

"Are you sure you shouldn't go to a doctor?" Raziel asked.

"I've had worse. Besides, they can't do anything for me," Jennifer said.

"I thought that medical science was supposed to be capable of near-miracles," Raziel said.

"Stopping the itch isn't one of them. I have a bad reaction to antihistamines," Jennifer said. In answer to Raziel's questioning stare, she continued. "In small doses, I can't stay awake. That time I went to the hospital over something like this, they gave me a large dose. I'm not sure how close I came to dying."

"I can tell you're suffering," Raziel said.

"It will go away, I just need a distraction," Jennifer said. "It's not that bad."

Jennifer picked up a controller for the PS2 and frowned at the shredded plastic. The other one was worse.

"Sorry," Raziel commented. "Azrael and I were playing Barbarian."

Jennifer sighed as she took a nail file and knocked the sharp edges off of the scratches in the controller. She then popped Drakan into her PS2 and began slaughtering Wartoks.

At that moment, Janos wandered in behind them. "I suppose that this is another world that exists only for amusement."

"These characters don't have the same depth," Jennifer said. "Rynn is only a shadow, and I've always thought that Arok was senile."

Raziel rolled his eyes at Janos, "You still don't believe that we came from a game?"

"More so now," Janos asserted. He was speaking of his 400-year imprisonment. "Is it true then that everything that happened in the game also happened in Nosgoth?"

Raziel blinked in surprise and admitted, "Actually, I've never seen my own games. I did play one of Kain's, but there were some things in it that didn't quite seem right."

Janos gazed at Raziel expectantly. His point had been made.

"I'm afraid that I was a bit of an idiot back then," Raziel admitted sadly. He paused for a moment, and then got slightly angry because he had expected Jennifer to disagree with him.

"Raziel, do you remember when you wanted to know what was in my journal of righteousness? Remember how I told you that you would have to learn Theban because I said I would puke if I read that stuff aloud?" she asked, defending her accord with his shameful admittance.

Raziel came to a decision. "Jennifer, do you mind?"

"Do you want me to liberate the machine, or do you want me to play? If you want me to play, it's going to be on one condition." Jennifer said. Raziel indicated he wanted the condition, and Jennifer answered, "You're not to become insulted if I am clumsy, or anything else happens that you don't like."

"I accept your terms," Raziel said.

Jennifer quit her current game and inserted Soul Reaver, switching the save cards.

"Um, do you remember when I told you how it started?" Jennifer asked.

Raziel braced himself. Jennifer watched the two spectators instead of the opening movie. Raziel shut his eyes when Kain stood, unable to watch. Janos was fascinated, but he also showed signs of discomfort in seeing it. Neither of them calmed down when the real-time graphics started. Raziel raised his eyebrows at how blocky he looked. However, Janos looked like he was ready to cry.

"His voice," Janos sobbed. "I know what you told me, but his voice…"

Raziel patted Janos reassuringly. "I had viewed Kain as my god, I understand."

Raziel commented constantly on various inconsistencies in the game. Most of them were minor, and the plot still stayed intact.

Kain and Azrael wandered in then.

Kain commented, "You look like a piece of origami."

Raziel gave Kain a scathing look. "Your game looked worse."

Jennifer felt the need to add, "Just wait, you do look worse."

The two newcomers settled on to the sofa to watch. The next major battle was Raziel against Kain. Janos balked a bit at Kain having the Reaver instead of Raziel, even though he knew by now that the blade had passed through other hands. Raziel shook his head in revelation, as he was reminded of what happened.

At the Sarafan tomb, Janos looked at Raziel, expecting a further explanation.

"I wasn't actually narrating my own life at any point, but that does illustrate what I was thinking at the time. I really was an idiot," Raziel said. He noticed the way he had suddenly switched his beliefs when he discovered that he had been a Sarafan.

Fortunately, the next day Jennifer did not have a temp assignment. Her rash would have made it hard to function at a job. Janos was the one who wanted to see the games in its entirety, and he still had daily responsibilities, so Jennifer went back to roasting Wartoks for a while. During that time, the memory card, which she carelessly laid on top of the PS2, was knocked off and crushed while Raziel and Azrael were having another one of their minor scuffles.

That night, Raziel moodily watched while Jennifer maneuvered through the training missions with a spare card. The others filtered in also.

"You're right, he is annoying," Jennifer said, pressing the mute button on the television. At the moment, Janos was not in the room to protest that action.

"You have no idea," Raziel said. "You're going to have to play through all that again?"

"We stopped after the drowned abbey, right?" Jennifer asked.

Raziel nodded sullenly.

"Watch this," Jennifer said. She had just guided the avatar back to the abyss and unmuted the sound. Jennifer entered the cheat code to 'unlock all abilities' and the Reaver flared to life on the avatar's arm. She then turned to Dumah's territory.

Raziel considered the screen in mild surprise. "You could have done that at any time?"

"Yes," Jennifer said carefully.

"Then why didn't you?" Raziel asked.

"What would be the point?" Jennifer asked. "I thought we were after the entire story this time. We could have skipped to the next disc if you weren't interested in seeing how the game portrays you killing your brothers."

Raziel conceded that Jennifer had a point.

It was still early in the evening when they hit the end, so they went on to Soul Reaver 2.

Janos actually jerked in disgust during the first time that the Elder God was clearly visible. He stared mutely.

"The game does not do him justice," Raziel said gently.

The game flowed smoothly until Raziel criticized Jennifer for her poor handling of the battles against the demons in the future.

"Hey, you're the one who refuses to play your own game," Jennifer said testily. Her tone softened. "Oh Janos, you might want to turn away for this part."

Janos refused to heed her advice and was rewarded with seeing the statue of Vorador's severed head in Moebius' hands. He covered his mouth, and for a moment it looked like he was going to be sick. Jennifer paused the game until Janos regained his composure, but made no comment.

Jennifer saved the game in Uschtenheim because she was too tired to continue.

Janos held out his talon, "If I may?" His question was directed more at Raziel than Jennifer.

Jennifer demonstrated how the controller worked and handed it to Janos.

"How did she make this look so easy?" Janos muttered as Jennifer wandered off to bed

After the cut scene where Janos' electronic actor teleported Raziel away to safety, the flesh Janos fiddled with the controller disinterestedly. "That was just weird," Janos said unsteadily.

Raziel noticed the save point in the fire forge. "Perhaps we should call it a night," he suggested gently.

Janos shakily agreed.

The next morning, Janos was still unwell. Seeing himself in the game and being reminded of how brutally he had been murdered had caused him a restless night. He had found himself unable to sleep for many hours, and then he was disturbed by nightmares. His talons shook, and he broke the sugar bowl.

Raziel told Jennifer where they had ended, though she could have guessed just by watching Janos' disturbed behavior.

"I could get to the next save point," Jennifer offered.

"Could you preserve the one from last night?" Janos trembled. "I may have to confront the event."

Jennifer nodded and played through the next part while Janos was feeding the cat outside.

No one felt the need to comment on the final scene. Each one reacted in their own silent way. Jennifer still got chills when she played Raziel against Raziel. The flesh Raziel sitting beside her tensed with some unreadable emotion. Janos looked on in sadness. Azrael's eyes glittered with true understanding of what his twin was capable of. Kain had seen it all before in real life.

They were still silent when the screen that instructed how to unlock the bonus features faded into view. Suddenly, Raziel shook himself back into attentiveness. "Bonus features?" he questioned.

Jennifer clicked the controller. "How they made the games," she explained.

Janos checked the clock. "I should get moving. I still have obligations."

"What is it that you do every day?" Kain questioned.

Janos sighed. "Atonement. I doubt I can ever repay my debt to every human that I've killed, but I hope I can make some small difference."

Kain laughed aloud at Janos, but he was silenced by a hard stare from the angel.

"Do you wish to annoy me further?" Janos asked Kain.

After Janos had left, Kain muttered. "Yet another good reason why he should have stayed dead."

"I'm beginning to regret that I ever let you live," Raziel told Kain.

Jennifer had already gone to bed once Janos returned from his good deeds. Still, they decided to stick Defiance into the machine.

Raziel was comfortable the idea of playing as Kain, so he took over when Janos' lack of skill started to cause problems. Raziel gave the controller back to Janos on his own level.

Jennifer came wandering down about an hour later.

"Thank goodness you're awake," Raziel told Jennifer. He indicated the screen. "Janos has tried this, I've tried this, I've even made Azrael try it. The only one who hasn't touched that controller is Kain because he refuses."

Jennifer blinked sleepily as she looked at the screen. She started laughing. "You finally tried playing yourself in the game?"

"Out of desperation," Raziel said in sadness. "For all the good it's done."

Jennifer plopped down in front of the television and grabbed the controller with sleep-addled fingers. "Where are you going, little soul?" the television asked.

Jennifer expertly guided the miniature Raziel up the spiral shaft. At the top, she took a breath and silently counted to three before squeezing the controller into the final jump.

"How did you do that?" Raziel asked as he accepted the controller from Jennifer and passed it back to Janos.

"How did you manage to escape with only one chance?" Jennifer responded.

"It was easier when I was actually fighting for my freedom," Raziel said.

"The trick to this game seems to be a case of relaxing, of not caring about whether or not you can see what you're doing," Jennifer gazed into the distance in a Zen-like haze.

"It's still odd to see the Reaver in Kain's hands," Janos said when the chapter shifted again.

Jennifer wordlessly requested the controller from Janos. She entered the appropriate code and a cardboard tube replaced the Reaver.

"Change it back," Kain said. His voice did not carry any sort of threat, just a gentle indication that he expected to be obeyed.

Jennifer entered another code. The Reaver was a sword again, but the electronic Kain became a caricatured version. The real Kain grabbed Jennifer by the neck. She went completely limp in submission. Her breath wheezed gently in her throat, only slightly impeded. Kain's arm shook in an effort to choke Jennifer. After a minute, he released her in frustration.

Jennifer entered the two codes that would return the miniature Kain and his Reaver back to normal.

Throughout the rest of the day, the controller passed between everyone present. Janos sighed when he saw the spirits of the past guardians. He whispered each of their names. Jennifer called them 'shadows of shadows,' when questioned about whether they could be pulled out of the game.

During the citadel chapter, Janos murred softly to himself as he compared his thoughts during the original conversation with what he knew now. "Can you take a closer look at that mural?" Janos suddenly asked. He had never been in the room whose key he had held for so long.

Janos stared at the mural that revealed Kain as the Scion of Balance. "Is this true?" he questioned Raziel. Raziel confirmed that it was how he remembered it.

Janos silently left the room. Jennifer gave Raziel a look that said, 'stay here,' as she flung down the controller and followed Janos out.

She stood silently behind him, unsure of what to say.

"Someone knew," Janos told her sadly. "Someone knew, but they didn't tell me."

Jennifer laid a hand on Janos' arm. "Would you have waited for him?"

"I would have let him find that damn sword himself," Janos spat. He recoiled in alarm.

They both stood in silence for several moments.

"I'm sorry," Jennifer finally said.

Janos shuddered under the weight of his emotions.

Everyone was a little freaked out by the way Janos had suddenly left the room. No one mentioned it or asked Janos to explain.

They continued again that evening at Janos' request. "You know what happened next," Jennifer warned the angel.

Fortunately, Jennifer's face remained totally impassive while she played the battle of Raziel versus Janos.

"You hesitated," Janos said in alarm.

"I couldn't kill you again," Raziel responded.

The chapter shifted to Kain again.

"Is that true?" Raziel shrieked as he seized the controller. "Did you really wait until that moment to question yourself?"

"Of course not," Kain said, obviously irritated that Raziel would believe that for a second. That moment when he gazed out on the pillars was only the latest doubt.

All bad feelings were lost, however, during the scene where Raziel sacrificed himself to the Reaver. The flesh Raziel lost control of his form. He paused the game with a shaking talon and then sat as he struggled with his emtions.

"I didn't want to go insane," Raziel breathed.

Everyone was silent for several minutes.

Kain hesitantly laid a hand on Raziel's shoulder. "I still wish that it had been different. As I long as I have strength to stand, he will not win."

"One battle left," Jennifer said. "Care to slice some squid?"

After the game ended, Janos asked, "What happens next?"

Jennifer pointed at Kain. "Ask him."

Kain shrugged innocently, "I still refuse to spoil the surprise."

"We'll hear something within the next year," Jennifer assured Janos. "Of course, it will probably be another couple years before it's playable."


	11. More Drinking

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

Review responses: Insert standard speech how I don't want to forget or offend anyone.

Lunatic Pandora: Interesting you should mention that, because Janos used to know some healing spells back during the war, but he's actually forgotten them.

Varyssa: That wasn't a gerkin. Have you ever tried a jalepeno? Those things hurt. ;)

Soul of Ashes: Hopefully your keyboard is better now?

BearVsChris: Um, the cats are one of those random plot points that end up being pointless because I don't do anything with them.

Tomlette: I'm glad you liked that pic.

Cemeterry-Man: Rambling is fine, inspiration comes from everywhere. As for building up to something, I think I'm ready to think about plot developement again.

RavenWolf: I've got the perfect part for you. Can I call you Raven in it?

On that note, an announcement about the fan invasion. It's in the queue for number 13. (It might go in 14 if I divide the chunk.) There might still be room for more, and I've got a couple of OC's who can be replaced.

Btw: Thanks also to the invisible readers that I've tripped over lately.

* * *

While Janos and Raziel were discussing some of the minor differences between the games and Raziel's actual memories, Kain took an opportunity to speak with Jennifer alone.

"What is the secret of your power?" Kain asked.

"Why are you asking, Kain? You have a reputation for stealing other people's disciplines," Jennifer said.

Kain's eyes flashed dangerously. "I did not steal those skills. As Balance Guardian, I was supposed to have a mixture of the powers enjoyed by the other guardians. Had I been aware of my role, I also could have resisted their original manipulations."

"I don't know how I manage to call people out of video games," Jennifer admitted. "I just follow my instincts."

Kain watched as Jennifer treated her poison ivy rashes. He noticed the way she hissed in pain as the medicine stung her skin.

"Is this a case of the treatment being worse than the disease?" Kain asked.

"No," Jennifer said through gritted teeth. "It's only a case of the treatment being worse than eating jalapenos."

Kain snorted in lack of sympathy. Still, he decided to help Jennifer fix her bandages.

"If I asked you to bring someone out, would you do it?" Kain asked.

"Perhaps," Jennifer answered. "Who did you want?"

"I was only wondering," Kain said smoothly.

Jennifer thought for a moment about who Kain would want. She called one word to Kain's back. "Purple."

Kain froze, turned, and looked at her.

Jennifer grinned mischievously at Kain. "Dumah. You want to knock him around for being such an idiot, don't you?"

"Any insult to my brood is an insult to me," Kain growled.

"I apologize," Jennifer bowed formally. She had a feeling that Kain knew exactly what she was really talking about.

Jennifer came back out to the lounge and heard the last bit of conversation between Raziel and Janos. "So now you know just about everything about me," Raziel said.

"Does he know what happens to you when you get drunk?" Jennifer broke in.

"Even I don't know what happens to me when I get drunk," Raziel retorted.

"I've got a bottle waiting if you want another try in figuring that one out," Jennifer joked.

To her surprise, Raziel agreed. Jennifer was secretly glad that she actually had many bottles, as the stress of the last few days demanded much booze to wash it away.

Janos had some small idea of what alcohol could do. He had made the mistake of preying on a drunk once or twice before, though he had never had an opportunity to drink it directly. Even so, he matched Kain and Jennifer drink-for-drink.

Raziel's drunkenness caused him to lose his form. He complained loudly when Jennifer took his drink away.

"It's wasted on you," Jennifer said without a trace of unkindness. "How are you going to drink it?"

Raziel screwed up his eyebrows in concentration. He was having trouble thinking through his drunken haze.

Azrael laughed. Finally there was something where he could exceed that demon's capabilities. His celebration was fleeting. A short time later, he ran outside and began puking.

Janos began crooning some strange melody. Jennifer was reminded of some Irish rebel songs. She guessed that perhaps it was left over from the war, sung in times when it was going well for the ancients.

Raziel was drunkenly arguing with Kain. "I can still take you," Kain punctuated. They both stood and began struggling, but due to their inebriation they only ended up falling over each other.

Jennifer woke up in Janos' arms. He had her pinned in a tight but still comfortable embrace. Janos muttered softly in his own language as he snuggled against her; then he froze. His bright yellow eyes snapped open. Janos pawed desperately at Jennifer's neck, looking for any sign of a wound. Then he pushed her away as he jerked into a sitting position.

"Whoa, it's okay," Jennifer said gently. "Nothing happened."

Janos was visibly shaking. "I thought…"

Jennifer tried to reassure the hysterical angel. "Nothing happened, I remember. You just got a little wacky, that's all."

"Why didn't you stop me?" Janos asked.

"Well, you're so much stronger than me, and the others had already passed out," Jennifer shrugged. "The bear hug was a little odd, but I didn't feel like it was worth blasting you. If you had tried anything I really didn't like, I would have set your hair on fire."

Janos' expression was haunted. "For a moment, I was afraid that I had woken up with a corpse."

Jennifer noted the lack of identity in that statement. She had a distinct feeling that something like this had happened before with gruesome results. "Why are you upset, Janos?" Jennifer questioned.

Janos shrunk away when Jennifer tried to touch his arm. "I don't wish to talk about it right now," he said as he slid off the bed. "I doubt you'd understand."

Jennifer let Janos walk down the hallway before she came out of the bedroom. She found Raziel and Kain still in the lounge. Raziel was unconscious, but his claws were hopelessly tangled in Kain's long mane. Kain was sitting on the floor; the irritated vampire was effectively trapped.

"Don't just stand there," Kain growled.

"In a minute," Jennifer said. She went outside to check on Azrael. She had remembered his overindulgence and became worried.

Azrael was hanging over the porch railing. A quick glance at the ground showed that his stomach contents hadn't included any solid food. Jennifer hesitantly prodded him.

Azrael snapped into consciousness and tried to bite Jennifer. However, his nausea from the night before caught up with him. He pushed Jennifer away and began heaving anew, even though his stomach was already empty.

Jennifer backed away and decided that Azrael would have to deal with his problem himself. She went back inside to free Kain.

Jennifer gently took Raziel's wrist. He mumbled incoherently but did not wake up. Kain winced as Jennifer patiently teased his hair from around Raziel's talons.

"I'm actually glad that Raziel doesn't have a way to get too drunk," Jennifer said.

Kain just rolled his eyes at Jennifer. He just wanted to get out of this unscathed, and that included damage to his hair.

"Can you imagine the wraith trying to puke without any guts?" Jennifer asked Kain quietly.

"I would not wish too," Kain said, uncomfortably aware that the creature in question was disturbingly close to him.

Jennifer took the hint and finished untangling Kain's hair in silence.

Kain spent some time tending to Azrael's illness. It turned out that the vampire had managed to give himself alcohol poisoning. Though Kain complained about having to give up some of his blood, he did so tenderly.

Raziel eventually awoke from his stupor. He spent much of the day 'in meditation,' but Jennifer guessed that he might've been brooding or something equally negative.

Jennifer did spend the day in a similar fashion, though she could prove that she was actually meditating. She sat in the backyard and wove intricate melodies out of magic.

At some point, Janos wandered to the place where Jennifer was sitting. Jennifer nodded in his direction, but did not interrupt her tune. She let it die when she realized that she wandered into whatever song Janos had been singing the previous night.

Janos sighed. "Alcohol is truly evil stuff."

"What makes you say that?" Jennifer asked.

"I made a fool of myself," Janos said in embarrassment.

"You got off lightly, compared to the rest," Jennifer grinned. She sighed and let her voice take on a more serious tone. "Alcohol doesn't make you do things, it allows you to do things. You simply did some of the things that you had denied yourself."

Janos grimaced. "Things that should never see the light."

Jennifer shook her head sadly. "Sometimes I forget that the ability to think is one of the very few things we have in common," she said gently. Jennifer watched as Janos' throat twitched in response. "That was part of the problem this morning, wasn't it?"

"I had been taught that to consider such a thing with an outsider is a depravity," Janos said painfully. "Long before my time, others of my race let themselves be seduced. The results were abominations." Janos grimaced in revulsion. "There were times when I let myself get too hungry. I would lose my mind to the blood thirst and do terrible things. The worst was when I fell to that other craving; the one that should have been dead, like those who fell victim to it.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Jennifer said.

"You would condone my wanton behavior?" Janos asked.

Jennifer sighed, "I can't really imagine what it must have been like to be you, but I believe that I would have done the same thing."

"Doesn't it bother you that I've killed your kind?" Janos asked.

Jennifer stared into his amber eyes. She forced herself to see the blue skin and alien features. Janos' questioning gaze did not reveal his fangs, though Jennifer was positive that they were still there. Finally, she answered him. "It should," Jennifer admitted. "Really, as long as I'm not on the menu, I don't care."

"What would you do if I still craved your blood?" Janos asked.

"I probably wouldn't let you stay here," Jennifer said thoughtfully, "though it's not like you could take my blood by force anyway."

"Are you so sure?" Janos asked.

"You saw Kain try to kill me yesterday. He couldn't," Jennifer said with assurance. She held out her wrist, the blue lines of her veins standing out clearly underneath the pale skin. "Try it."

Curious, Janos took Jennifer's arm and dragged a sharp thumbnail across her wrist. All he left was a slight mark.

"Azrael's the only one here that has the ability to hurt me," Jennifer said. "Really, having him here makes me nervous sometimes."

"You let him stay here, even though it is only an oath that keeps him from hurting you," Janos mulled aloud. "Have you been blinded, child?"

"I suppose my sense of judgment is a bit skewed," Jennifer admitted. "It's complicated."

"I don't think it is complicated at all," Janos said. "My sense of smell is quite keen. I know that even if I could be interested, you are taken."

Jennifer was a little embarrassed by Janos' comment. "Why doesn't our involvement bother you?

Janos sighed as he thought of how to explain. "I leave the fledglings to their own decisions once they've reached a certain age. They never seem to share my views on the matter, anyway." Janos dismissed the memory with a wave of his talon. "Besides, there are as much similarity between you and him and there is between him and me."

Jennifer gasped in alarm. Janos' tone sounded a little too defeated. She grasped Janos' wrist and stared into his eyes. Jennifer's concern was written clearly on her face.

Janos' confusion diffused Jennifer's fears. She let go of his wrist and said, "I'm sorry. I thought… Well, I don't know what I thought… You're okay, aren't you?"

"Your concern for me is unfounded," Janos said, "this time."

Kain decided to resume his wanderings that evening. He stayed just long enough to make sure that Azrael would survive. 


	12. Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

Review Responses: 

Raven: Thanks for the praise.

VladimirsAngel: Nice to hear from you. Raziel with a head cold... Oh dear.

Lunatic Pandora: I knew I forgot to explain something. Kain was able to hurt Jennifer back when he was Elzavere's plushy. When she had to save him from a badly-sewn body, he became her creation and lost the ability to hurt her so easily.

phoenix: In the last chapter, I probably should have spent a sentence that clued in that they started talking about Raziel instead of Azrael. Jennifer may not have much of Raziel's smell on her, but Raziel smells a lot like her. There was going to be a discussion about marriage and children at the end of this chapter, but it just wasn't going right so I don't think I'm ever going to include it.

A/N

Because I've got a writer's block and I've found that a good way to deal with them is to simply leave them where they are and jump over them, I'm going to put a time gap in my story. It isn't very big, maybe a month at most, probably more like a week.

During that time, Janos, Raziel and Jennifer name the nest of kittens. Jennifer names a mean-tempered, completely black kitten "Demon." Raziel gives the name "Zeke" to the black-and-white kitten that Jennifer showed him earlier. Janos names the elegant gray tabby "Miasume," after someone special to him. Jennifer names their gray mother "Fluffy."

Another note is that I haven't mentioned Brightflame at all in this story. She's in the house, living comfortably. In fact, she regularly has conversations with everyone present. It's just that everything that involves her is rather boring within the context of the story, so you never see it.

Oh, by-the-way. At one point, Raziel had a chance to play some of the earliest video games available. I'm talking about Namco Museum or those self-contained game controllers, among antique video games that you find in good pizza places.

* * *

So now Jennifer and Raziel are driving to Jennifer's parents' house for the annual family reunion. 

"Raziel, you don't need to study the map this time," Jennifer said.

"I remember last time we tried to drive somewhere," Raziel insisted. "You got lost."

"The day that I can't find my way home is the day that I don't return," Jennifer declared. "This highway will take us straight there."

As it turned out, there was a minor detour as Jennifer dealt with an unexpected restructuring in the interchange

"It's amazing how this whole area was nothing but wilderness when I moved away," Jennifer remarked. "And where did that building come from? That was not here when I was up for the funeral."

Raziel gazed out the window. "Things never changed this quickly in Nosgoth, at least not when I was looking."

"I imagine that things never changed this quickly for the previous generations," Jennifer said whistfully.

Raziel noticed the way Jennifer's breathing patterns changed. She held her body in a much tenser position. "What's wrong?" he questioned.

"I just hate this part," Jennifer said, readjusting her grip on the steering wheel. Suddenly, she relaxed again. "I wonder whose name that stoplight is a memorial to."

While they waited to turn left at the light, Raziel asked, "What do you mean?"

"It used to be that people had to just trust their luck in getting across this highway," Jennifer said. "Accidents were common. I actually knew some people that got seriously hurt."

It was a few more moments of country backroads until Jennifer pulled into a driveway. A short and balding old man came out of the house to greet them.

"Father, how wonderful it is to see you," Jennifer said extravagantly.

"Why are you being so nice?" Jennifer's father questioned.

Jennifer's tone dropped to derisive "I was hoping that the shock would give you a coronary."

"Patience, my dear," he grinned.

"Go to hell," Jennifer sneered.

"You first," he said.

"I will not be your emissary," Jennifer declared.

"So, where did you dig this guy up?" Jennifer's father questioned.

"You're crossing the line, dad," Jennifer said.

"What line?" He asked.

"The one I'm drawing in the sand," Jennifer shouted dramatically.

Raziel rubbed his temples. Watching these two argue was like a game of pong.

"His name is Raziel," Jennifer said.

"Pleased to meet you, Raziel," Jennifer's dad said, shaking his hand.

"Likewise," Raziel said, hesitating on what to call this man.

"Go ahead and call me Tom," he offered.

"I'm a bit confused," Raziel told Jennifer in a quiet moment afterwards.

"Oh, the bikering is a tradition left over from my wild days," Jennifer said in embarrassment. "He gave up on trying to get any respect, but he also couldn't stand back and watch me ruin my life. It's complicated."

Fortunately, Jennifer's relationship with her mother was a bit more like what he would've expected. They chatted about seemingly unimportant things.

After dinner, Raziel ended up talking over scotch with Jennifer's father in the back yard. Raziel did not sip at his drink. It was dark enough that he could easily spill some without Tom noticing. 

The conversation became mainly one-sided as Jennifer's father ranted on about how the government was failing and that the republicans were taking over. Raziel found it to be slightly interesting; Kain had educated Raziel on how nobles managed the peasants in the past, but this was something different.

Raziel suddenly had the urge to back away slowly. He recognized Jennifer's influence in it, but he shrugged it off. He was wondering why she would do that when Tom knocked him in the side of the head.

Raziel's eyes flashed in anger at the staggering drunk.

"Pull your punches, Raziel," Jennifer warned as she came out from the bushes she had been listening from.

Raziel growled as he felt Jennifer's control twisting strongly into his limbs, ready to restrain him if needed. Still, she had given him license to retaliate.

Raziel kicked Tom's legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground. Raziel then wound the man's shirt around his fist and lifted Tom into the air. Jennifer's father was too drunk and surprised to put up any resistance; he spluttered incoherently.

Raziel sighed as he considered just how one-sided this situation was. Jennifer was watching him anxiously, making sure that Raziel didn't hurt her father. Raziel hoped that he had made his point as he released his hold. Raziel stalked away.

That night, Raziel sat on one of the couches while Jennifer settled into a comfortable sleeping position on the other.

"Your father is rather abrasive when he's drunk," Raziel said.

"You can say it, he's an asshole," Jennifer said good-naturedly.

"He's never hit you, has he?" Raziel asked in concern.

"He's knocked me over before, but he never actually hurt me," Jennifer said. "Dad just needs room to rant sometimes."

"He probably doesn't like me now," Raziel pointed out.

"Who knows, you might have impressed him," Jennifer said. "Though I had to listen to him gripe about how he's not entitled to an opinion." She caught Raziel's reaction to that and said, "Just let it go."

The next morning was the family picnic. Raziel found himself overwhelmed with Jennifer's kin. Though he was also disturbed to notice how most of the family was made up of old people. There were very few that were around Jennifer's age, and even fewer children. Still, he was too fascinated with speaking with the elders to think about it. Even though Raziel had quickly become the second-oldest creature in all of Nosgoth, he hadn't aged so he never actually felt old. 

When it was time to go home, Jennifer crawled into the back of the van and changed out of her soaking wet outfit into her traveling clothes. "You missed the water-balloon catch," she remarked.

"I was busy," Raziel said mildly. He eyed the round purple mark where Jennifer had caught a speeding water balloon directly in the chest. "Besides, I don't see why having something launched at you with a giant slingshot is considered fun."

"Strange customs," Jennifer muttered as she started the van.

Raziel buckled his seatbelt and settled into a comfortable position. "Still, it was interesting."

Jennifer giggled at Raziel's tone. "I love my family, but only in small doses. Let's go home."


	13. Fan invasion Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

Warning: I've been keeping a queue of chapters so that I could update regularly through writer's blocks. That que has been depleted. I might have an unexpected delay in the next chunk. I realize that I could withhold a story chunk until I've got more in the queue, but I don't feel like doing that.

A/N: I know, another roadtrip story. They've been home for about two weeks, but nothing exciting has really happened except for Janos trying to have a staring contest with Brightflame. He still doesn't realize that Brightflame doesn't have eyelids, and that the impression that she's blinking is just a mental trick. 

Jennifer drove, or course, and Raziel was in the navigator's seat and was busy inspecting the map. Janos was in the back, his wings draped over the low seat cusion. Azrael had the hood of his sweatshirt pulled around his face and was moodily staring out the window.

"Do you think we'll be able to find any fan-kids at the convention?" Raziel asked, tugging at his t-shirt. It had the inverted symbol from his drape emblazoned on it.

"They'll find us," Jennifer said. "Anyone who deserves to find you will recognize your symbol."

"What about that outfit you brought?" Raziel asked.

"Only the true crazies will be able to recognize that getup," Jennifer giggled. "It's a shame, really. So few female characters to begin with, and some get cut."

Raziel thought for a moment. "Who are you dressing as?"

"Random vamp chick that gets killed by Moebutt's mob," Jennifer sighed.

"You could have gone with someone more recognizable," Raziel pointed out.

Jennifer mentally ticked off her choices. "Let's see; purple underwear, practically naked, weird flowing rags... I don't know what the priestess is supposed to look like." Jennifer took a breath and began listing the more random women. "The sorceresses were bald, and I really don't want to wear Moebutt's symbol." Jennifer gave an expressive yawn.

Janos tensed in worry. "Are you tired, Jennifer?"

"A little bit," Jennifer admitted. "I was putting the last touches on my costume last night."

When they pulled off at the next rest stop so that Jennifer could get some cola, Janos snuck up behind her and put a sleep spell on her.

"What are you doing?" Raziel asked.

"I will not have her operating that vehicle while she's exhausted," Janos said.

"So now we're stuck here until she's had a nap," Raziel said unenthusiastically.

"There are worse things," Janos insisted.

"I'm sure that I could drive the van," Azrael said. At Raziel and Janos' doubting stares, Azrael insisted, "It can't be any harder than riding a motorcycle."

Raziel had been in the passenger seat enough times to be able to guide Azrael around the differences between his motorcycle and the van. After a few tense minutes, (Janos yelped in alarm when Azrael pressed too hard on the gas pedal and caused the van to jolt forward,) they were on the road again.

Jennifer jerked awake several hours later. She only relaxed slightly when she saw that Azrael was driving. He momentarily flicked his eyes up to meet hers in the mirror; his glance was unconcerned. 

"Honestly," Jennifer grumbled at Janos. She fixed him with an angry glare. Janos calmly returned the gaze. Finally, Jennifer gave up. She figured out the who, and she understood the why.

They switched drivers at the next rest stop, and they got to their destination without incident.

At the convention, Raziel shook his head adamantly. "I am not dropping my illusion," he insisted. "That's why we dragged my handsome doppelganger along." 

Jennifer opened her mouth to convince him to reconsider, but then she just smiled. "Okay"

After a couple hours, Raziel was beginning to become worried that the only fanatics that had made it to the convention were for Star Wars. Azrael had only gotten some general comments, but that might have been because he was wandering around without a shirt on. Janos had disappeared shortly after they had arrived, and no one had recognized Raziel's symbol. He slipped into the alcove for one of the emergency exits and dropped his disguise.

Raziel emerged again and nonchalantly leaned against the wall. Inwardly, he was feeling very self-concious about standing in a crowd like this. He wanted to stay close to the exit.

Someone noticed him and commented, "Cool costume, man." The guy and his friend wandered closer to Raziel.

Raziel nodded and gave a quiet, "thanks."

The other guy was studying Raziel's 'costume' when he noticed how inhumanly skinny the wraith was. Curiously, he reached towards the concave stomach. The horror dawned instantly. "That's no costume."

Both guys backed away slowly and disappeared into the crowd. Raziel narrowed one eye in an expression of a smirk. This wasn't so bad. Even though they had been afraid, at least they didn't run away screaming.

After a few minutes, a white-haired man with a red and black outfit wandered up to Raziel. "Two guys just apologized for not believing that I really am who I said I was. I take it that you had something to do with that."

Raziel shrugged. "It's possible. I really couldn't say for sure."

The man leaned against the wall next to Raziel. "You're obviously far from home. How are you handling it?"

"Who are you?" Raziel asked, mentally questioning why he hadn't become suspicious earlier.

He frowned. "Dante. I'm surprised you haven't heard of me."

"It's surprising that no one's recognized me yet. My name is…"

"Raziel!" someone suddenly shouted. The wraith noticed a half-dozen girls coming in his direction. "I told you it was him," the one in the lead said.

Raziel's eyes widened in alarm. He had not expected them to gang up on him like this. He shoved Dante at his fangirls and forced his way through the exit.

Raziel was clinging to the wall above their heads when his fangirls came running past. Raziel shook his head in wonder. He thought he had heard the word 'cute' among their excited babble.

Dante came stalking out of the building a moment later. He glanced up at Raziel and scowled. Dante disappeared in a burst of light, and in his place stood a red monster. Raziel leapt at the creature as it flew up towards him. It hit the wall with a satisfying 'crack' and fell to the pavement below. Raziel decided to leave well enough alone and ran as Dante slowly got back to his feet.

Raziel rounded a corner and found Kain and Azrael talking to a small group of people.

"Oh no, there's two of them?" one of the guys asked. "One whiner was bad enough."

Raziel turned to Kain, "One of yours, I assume."

"It could be worse," Kain said, smiling cruelly. "Kigon here is actually one of the more civilized ones."

Raziel joined in conversation with some of the people in the group. He found that these people weren't so bad, it was just some bizarre stroke of bad luck that had caused him to run into nothing but hyper-obsessed fangirls at first.

"There he is!" a familiar voice shouted. Raziel turned around to find that the hyper-obsessed fangirls had found him again, but this time their numbers had grown to fifteen.

"There's two of them!" another one shouted as they saw the two versions of Raziel standing next to one another.

Raziel stiffened in panic. He noticed how the small group of civilized fans had suddenly dispersed. "Run!" Raziel told Azrael.

The fangirls were getting nearer. "Kill Kain!" one of them gleefully shouted.

The former emperor took this as his cue to teleport away. He had a feeling that clashing with this mob would mean much more than getting his hair pulled; not that he wanted that to happen again, either.

As Raziel was running, it occurred to him that he could just change forms and fly away, but he did not want to abandon Azrael to this horde. Raziel knew from personal experience that there were far worse fates, but the prospect still did not sound pleasant.

Raziel saw a convenient escape route. "This way," he told Azrael.

Raziel leapt onto a wall and dug his left talon into the cracked concrete. He grabbed Azrael's arm with his right talon as the vampire leapt up beside him. Then Raziel used his unnatural strength Azrael's remaining momentum to propel the vampire up to the ledge. Raziel was glad that evolution had already ensured that Azrael was lighter than he should be, or else the wall might not have supported both of them.

The vampire pulled Raziel up to stand beside him on the ledge. They waved at the frantically screaming fangirls below them.

"Now what do we do?" Azrael asked.

"I don't know," Raziel replied. "Hopefully they'll get bored and wander off."

After an hour of listening to the fangirls' desperate pleas, Azrael began stalking along the ledge. "I see a way down," he said.

The ledge continued around the corner of the building and over a high fence. Both characters had no trouble with dropping to the ground on the far side of the fence, leaving the rejected fangirls stranded on the opposite side.

Raziel returned to his human form and began happily humming his theme song.

"What are you grinning about?" Azrael asked.

"I'm not sure," Raziel admitted. "Even though we were running from a bunch of psychopaths, it was fun."


	14. Fan invasion Pt 2

Raziel and Azrael met up with Jennifer shortly afterwards. She was sitting on a bench with a few of the civilized fans.

"You're here," a short girl wearing a black dress said.

"It wasn't anything I couldn't handle, Raven," Azrael smiled.

"I saw what happened," Jennifer said, smirking.

"Then why didn't you come help us?" Raziel demanded.

Jennifer pointed at Azrael with her thumb. "Like he said, you could handle it."

"Barely," Raziel shuddered.

"Anyway, some of us were going to hit a bar for some beer. Are you up to it?" Jennifer asked.

"Sure," Raziel said.

They noticed how Azrael had turned a peculiar shade. "I'd rather pass on this one," he said. Raven glomped onto his arm, making it clear that she would go wherever Azrael went.

On the way to the bar, the three other fans introduced themselves to Raziel. One of them preferred to be called only by his online handle 'Varewulf.' The girl introduced herself as 'Seraphim,' but reluctantly gave Raziel the option of calling her either Sera or Alice. The last introduced himself as Dennis, 'same as the director of Blood Omen,' but with the online handle 'Irmok.'

"Whose fan are you?" Raziel asked Dennis as they walked in.

"Can't I be both?" Dennis asked. "You worked towards the same ultimate goal in Defiance."

"I seem to recall that I ended up in the very situation that I had been avoiding," Raziel said crossly.

"Okay, bad example," Dennis said, recognizing that Raziel did not like this topic.

They sat down and ordered one pitcher of beer to share. Raziel took a glass as with the rest. He figured that since it took a bit of hard liquor to make him lose control, that he could handle one beer without much difficulty.

"What about you, Alice?" Raziel questioned.

Seraphim positively blushed as she said, "Well, it was the vampire that originally drew me in, but…" she shyly let her sentence fade away unfinished.

Raziel took a sip of his beer and stared at Seraphim in expectation of her continuing.

Seraphim fiddled with her glass. "I'm not sure why I started liking you better the way you became."

Raziel turned to Varewulf, "Your turn."

Varewulf poured himself another beer. "It was your world, the way it decayed. I found it fascinating." He took a sip of his beer. "I felt like 'I' was the one whose reality had been challenged. I felt like you."

Raziel took this comment gracefully. He had noticed how Jennifer had sometimes lost her identity and referred to the character on the screen as 'I,' though she always seemed to refer to Raziel and Kain's avatars in the third person.

Though Raziel had stopped when he finished his one glass of beer, the others finished off the pitcher. Raziel felt a little funny, so he excused himself for some fresh air. Shortly afterwards, Dennis also began to feel strange. Jennifer ran her fingers along her lips, noticing that they had become numb.

"Let's get out of here," Seraphim recommended.

They got outside and noticed that Raziel was staring intently at the decorative fountain. He was in his wraith form and leaning against the guardrail.

Jennifer went over to Raziel and put her hand on his shoulder. Raziel turned to her. If it was possible for his expression to be blank, this was it. Raziel then lost his balance and fell to his knees, dragging Jennifer into a crouch.

Jennifer tried to pull Raziel to his feet, but she found that her strength had left her. Fortunately, Varewulf was capable of lifting the disoriented wraith. Jennifer couldn't focus well enough to force Raziel into his plush form, and she didn't want to do it in front of his fans anyway.

Varewulf carried Raziel draped over his back, though Raziel's fangs were still sharp, and lightly shredded his t-shirt clad shoulder. Dennis had to resort to carrying Seraphim in a similar manner.

All of them had only gotten sicker as they walked from the bar. Jennifer's mind surfaced from her haze just long enough to say, "The beer, someone must have drugged us."

By some miracle, they made it back to the hotel. They stole a clean sheet from a cart and wrapped Raziel in it to disguise him.

Dennis took Seraphim back to his own room, saying that he would figure out who she was staying with later.

When they got to their own room, Raven and Azrael were already there. They were lounging on the bed and watching television.

Varewulf dumped Raziel on the bed, but didn't bother to unwind him from the sheet. Varewulf then slumped into the only available chair. Jennifer collapsed next to Raziel on the bed.

"What happened to you?" Azrael questioned.

"Someone tried to drug us," Jennifer murmered. "I don't know why."

"Yet another reason why I'm glad we didn't go with you," Azrael chuckled.

Jennifer turned over in the bed, too disoriented to sleep. She needed something real to distract her from the way she was feeling. "I take it you had fun?"

"We had a blast," Raven grinned. "We found a park just a couple of blocks from here. Azrael didn't like that it was on the river, but we threw rocks at the ducks."

Azrael was about to add something else when he noticed that Jennifer had finally passed out.

At that moment, Janos landed with a thump on the balcony. Azrael disentangled himself from Raven to let the angel in. Janos entered slowly, having been taught his own painful lesson about rabid fangirls. Janos shrunk back in alarm when he saw Raven, but he relaxed again when she rolled her eyes at him.

Azrael was in the middle of telling Janos what had happened to the others when a knock sounded at the door, Raven answered it.

"Is Varewulf in here?" a guy asked. "We were sharing a hotel room, but he disappeared."

"That's him over there," Raven said. "He's been drugged."

"Figures," the other guy grinned. Then he finally noticed Janos and Azrael standing in the room. "Oh my god," he breathed.

"You're not one of those obsessive nutcases, are you?" Janos asked.

"Naw, I'm a pure storyline fan," the stranger said. "Still, I didn't believe that it was possible. You are here."

Azrael helped the stranger carry the barely-conscious Varewulf back to their room. Raven took that moment to go back to her own room as well.

The next morning, they all sat in the hotel room and ate the bagels that the mysterious stranger had retrieved from the hotel lobby. Raziel was excluded from eating, as his system did not burn off the drug very quickly, and his ability to disguise himself was impaired. 

"Who are you?" Jennifer groggily asked.

"My handle's Kakarot," he said.

"Oh," Jennifer said, a sour expression crossing her face.

"Who are you?" Kakarot asked.

"Draconic," Jennifer said, referring to her forum handle.

"Oh," Kakarot said in understanding.

"What's going on?" Raziel asked.

"He and I have a tendency to butt heads on the forums," Jennifer said. "The only problem is that he's a Taurus, so he has a natural advantage."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I doubted you," Kakarot said. "It's still hard to believe that they're here."

Jennifer shrugged. "I gave up on convincing anyone."

"You know, that's the problem with you," Kakarot told Jennifer. "You'll get into an argument, then suddenly back down as soon as it starts getting good."

"Says the guy who likes to stir things up just because he's bored," Jennifer retorted. "I know of a wasps' nest that could keep you occupied for hours."

Kakarot grinned. "So, you do have some fire."

Jennifer snapped her fingers, and a brief tongue of flame flickered on the tip of her thumb. She returned the amazed stares with a bored expression before reaching for the other half of her bagel.

When it was time to go, Raven and Azrael went off to the side to say their personal farewells.

"I wish I could take you with me," Raven said sadly, "but my roommate just wouldn't understand if I brought a vampire home."

"That is such a shame," Azrael said, hugging Raven against his chest. "When I'm with you, I don't long for the empire."

"I could try to get my own place," Raven thought aloud. "We could write to each other. Do you know how to use email?"

"I'm sure I could learn how," Azrael said.

A/N End Notes: Varewulf is a real person. Even though he's MIA, he did ask to be included in the fan invasion long before I announced it. Raven is a real person, and the only fan that I saw asking to be in it after I announced it. Kakarot is a real person simply because the character was inspired by the real Kakarot, and I gave up on trying to hide that. Kigon is a conglomeration of some random Kain-only fans that I've seen on the forums, but no one in particular. I think everyone else is an OC.

Btw, as far as Jennifer knows, Raven and Azrael spent all day throwing rocks at the ducks, and doing nothing else.


	15. Disaster, Interlude, Monster

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

* * *

Thank you for the reviews; Varyssa, Lunatic Pandora, BearVsChris, Soul of Ashes, Varewulf, and anyone I missed. Since I'm feeling in an abstract mood, I'm going to talk to people as a big A/N instead of making sure to everyone individually. 

Except... OMG, Vare, GLOMP I feared you were dead (or unconscious as the case may be.) I got the weasel quote off the radio at least a month before it made it into my story.

Yeah, when I was writing the fan invasion, I realized that I'm not that comfortable with using real people, especially if I want to try to get them accurate. I still might do some small mini-invasions later if the mood strikes me. I didn't want to come out and say directly that Raven was Azrael's plaything. I just learned that Kakarot is claiming the #2 spot in Raziel fandom, "since everyone else is claiming to be #1." And Varewulf, yeah, I kinda wish I had managed to get ahold of ya about that.

I didn't hurt Dante of DMC that badly, he managed to walk away, and it was funny. I don't know who really drugged the beer, or why. Well, the why is because Raziel knows better than to get drunk in public, but I wanted that image, so it had to be an accident on his part.

Random stuff... One of my invisible muses decided to make himself known to me recently. I have an Imaginary Simon Templeman. He's the reason that I can keep Kain so close to character. My IST has been reading Kain's lines for me in "the voice," and if it's not in character, it doesn't work.

I also realized that this story is more of a collection of specific images that happen to follow a lose plot in a coherent universe. In addition to being able to backtrack in my queue, (chap 15 went really fast, so I have a queue again,) I also have specific images that I want to hit. The image that begins at the end of this chapter has existed since halfway through the original RP.

* * *

They had almost made it back to their hometown when Jennifer drove the van into a thunderstorm. 

"Are you sure we shouldn't pull over?" Raziel asked, noticing how tightly Jennifer was gripping the steering wheel.

"That would be more dangerous," Jennifer said, staring intently at the road ahead. "The next exit isn't for miles."

The van lurched. "What was that?" Janos yelped in alarm.

"Just a gust of wind," Jennifer said calmly.

The vampires fell silent, unwilling to distract their driver.

After a few minutes, two cars collided in front of them, setting off a chain-reaction of crashes. Jennifer pumped the brakes, fighting to keep the van from skidding out of control. "Please," Jennifer moaned as the van neared the pile of cars.

By some stroke of luck, the van stopped just before it collided with the mass of wreckage. Unfortunately, the cars behind them could not stop in time. The van jolted forward from the impact.

Janos struggled out of his seat and went to the door.

"Wait," Jennifer told the angel.

Janos was about to question why when another impact knocked him off-balance.

After a tense minute, Jennifer said, "Okay."

The four got out of the van. Jennifer flinched as a stray piece of flying debris bounced off of her shield. Azrael hissed in annoyance at the heavy rain. Raziel grabbed his counterpart by the collar and reminded him that he didn't have that vulnerability anymore.

Janos immediately leapt to the original impact site. There was a fire among the cars, and at some point Janos had become aware of just how dangerous that could be. The angel struggled with the door of the first car. Raziel pushed Janos aside and effortlessly ripped the car's door away.

Janos took the wounded woman out of the car and teleported her to the hospital. The man in the next car that Raziel found was still conscious, and only scratched up. Azrael helped the man to safety. Janos returned with two doctors from the hospital.

It turned out that another hospital was closer, but Janos could not teleport to it until he knew where it was. This worked out for the best, as the wounded were divided between two hospitals. Thanks to the help of the guardian angel, the wraith, the mage, and the vampire, the ambulances and fire department were able to get the wounded out in record time.

A quick inspection of the van showed that it had only taken minor damage, and was still drivable. Janos was nowhere to be found, and the two doctors he had taken from the hospital were now stranded on the highway. They gladly took Jennifer's offer for a ride back.

Jennifer went inside the hospital with the two doctors. The main receptionist informed Jennifer that Janos was asleep in a spare bed.

"Are you okay?" Jennifer asked Janos as he groggily woke up.

"I am merely exhausted," Janos said. He was dressed in a pair of scrub pants and a gown that the hospital had obviously loaned to him. His own robes were soaked from the rain and hanging in the room.

"Can you walk out of here?" Jennifer asked gently. "I've got the van waiting."

Janos grimaced at the thought of riding in a vehicle again, but after a moment's thought, he said, "It appears I have no choice. I cannot fly in this weather, and I am too exhausted to use any magic."

Jennifer saw Janos' point. She could see the abnormal way that his feathers clung together as he moved, probably still damp from the rain.

"I heard you say 'please' as you were trying to stop your vehicle," Janos mentioned as they were walking down the hall. "Who were you talking to?"

Jennifer stared at the floor, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Anyone that would listen," she said quietly.

Janos looked at Jennifer quizzically but declined to comment.

On the way out, Janos told the receptionist, "I shall return these garments at first convenience."

"With all you've done for us, you can keep them," the receptionist answered. "It's the very least we can do."

The next morning, Janos winced as he walked. His muscles were stiff from being wet the previous day. Jennifer offered to give him a back rub. 

Jennifer worked methodically to ease the kinks out of Janos' muscles. She would first stroke lightly, then apply more pressure, and then put her full weight into the stroke. A few times, Janos had to stop her as she accidentally worked too close to his delicate wing bones.

"I didn't think that you only had one set of clothes, or that it would be a problem," Jennifer said.

"It usually wasn't a concern," Janos said. "I could wear the same set of robes for a decade or more. When they wore out, I would get some new cloth and make another."

"I didn't know you could sew," Jennifer said.

"I believe the expression is, 'everyone needs a hobby,'" Janos said simply.

Jennifer paused in her ministrations as she thought about this. Finally she said, "I suppose so… You more than anyone."

Janos favored Jennifer with a small chuckle, but fell silent when she began to massage a particularly sore spot.

Later that night, Raziel and Jennifer decided to watch Jurassic Park. Raziel actually started laughing when the half-eaten goat dropped on top of the car. "Honestly, where did they think it went?" He asked.

Jennifer snorted slightly at the observation, "T-rex isn't cute and cuddly."

They both jumped slightly as Brightflame pounced into their laps. "Something's terribly wrong," she said.

"What's the matter? Are you insulted that they misrepresented your family?" Raziel chuckled, gesturing at the screen.

"I claim no kin in that slobbering beast," Brightflame said. "There's something running lose, but I can't tell what it is."

Jennifer untangled herself from the blanket that they both were wrapped in. "This is serious," she said as she stood.

Half an hour later found them in the deserted business district near the middle of town.

"Are you sure about this?" Raziel asked Brightflame in irritation.

Brightflame clung to the back of Jennifer's shirt. "It's close."

Suddenly a voice rang out, echoing against the darkened buildings. "WHAT IS THIS PLACE?"

Raziel and Jennifer exchanged a surprised glance.

"Is that what I think it is?" Raziel asked.

"Oh no, not Magnus. Anyone but Magnus," Jennifer breathed desperately.

They rounded a corner to find the deranged vampire crouching in an alleyway. He was wearing nothing but a ragged pair of trousers and a large boiler strapped to his back. Metal hooks held his peeled skin open, revealing his internal organs. "No, no, they will find me. MY ENEMIES ALWAYS FIND ME!" Magnus raved.

"Stay back," Jennifer barely whispered.

"We can't let him run lose," Raziel argued.

"How do you expect to stop him? You're not indestructible anymore," Jennifer hissed as she drew Raziel back from the alleyway.

"Magnus is cloth," Brightflame informed them.

"That means that I should be able to gain control over him," Jennifer mused.

"Doesn't that require him to feed off you?" Raziel asked angrily. "Remember what he did to those prisoners."

Jennifer answered, "Hair will work just as well; I do not intend to let that crazy fiend so much as smell my blood. The trick will be getting my hair into his body."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Raziel muttered sarcastically.

"I'd like to know who brought him here," Jennifer said.

"I recognize the stitching," Brightflame said. She bristled and hissed, "Cynthia."

"That removes a problem," Jennifer thought aloud. "I do not need to leave his mind intact, such as it is."

"What are you planning?" Raziel asked.

Jennifer used the razorblade on her key chain to cut a lock of hair from the base of her neck. "If I can gain control of Magnus, I can force his personality back to before he went insane. He should be easier to reason with then. If nothing else, I can force him into his plush form and make him sleep until we can figure out what to do with him."

Raziel took the lock of hair from Jennifer and shifted to his wraith form. "I want you to stay away from that maniac."

Currently, Magnus was digging through the dumpster from a restaurant. "They think I live on air," the deranged vampire muttered.

Raziel knit his eyebrows in disgust. Still, that lunatic's hunger could be used against him. Raziel crept to the back door of the restaurant and used his unnatural strength to wrench the door open.

The noise alerted Magnus. "What? Who?" he cried.

Raziel came back out of the restaurant a moment later with a bag of ground beef. "Here," he said as he tossed the bag to Magnus.

Magnus' good eye tracked in Raziel's direction, but did not focus on the wraith. To Magnus, Raziel smelled like a long-abandoned crypt and was simply uninteresting. Magnus buried his face in the bag of meat and began slurping.

Raziel crept back to the shadows at the mouth of the alley, where Jennifer was watching Magnus eat.

"How long do you think it will take?" Raziel whispered.

"He's already eaten the hair," Jennifer breathed, her eyes her unfocused as she tried to exert her will on Magnus. "It might take a while."

Magnus finished the ground beef and dropped the plastic bag. "I failed. I tried to kill him but I failed." The mumbling vampire began to slowly wander out of the alley.

Raziel dragged Jennifer backwards, away from the mouth of the alley and the insane vampire. "He seems so calm," Jennifer remarked quietly.

"Let's hope he stays that way," Raziel muttered.

"He will," Jennifer smiled. She began creeping towards Magnus.

Suddenly, the vampire turned. "Ah! MEAT! Good, good day!"

Raziel shoved the shocked Jennifer out of the way. "Don't hurt her."

Magnus' eye glittered maniacally as he finally got a good look at the wraith. "Death. Death is here for me at last. COME! I will fight you!"

Raziel tensed and snarled, ready to defend himself. He didn't get the opportunity, as Magnus' eye rolled back in its socket and the insane vampire collapsed.

"He didn't seem right in the head," Jennifer said as she stared at the unconscious Magnus.

"That's an understatement," Raziel said, giving Jennifer an odd look.

"No, it's like…" Jennifer paused, trying to put her thoughts into words. "He seemed more lucid than I thought he would be, like Cynthia tried to make him sane already." Jennifer knelt down and lightly laid her fingers on Magnus' temple.

Raziel flexed his claws, his whole body still tense in anticipation of a fight.

"What a mess," Jennifer muttered to herself. "I guess she didn't have the ability to remove the spell."

Raziel crouched down next to Jennifer, "What do you mean?"

"Magnus mentioned that the Hylden Lord had used magic to take his mind. I can sense it," Jennifer said distractedly. She growled in frustration. "But I can't remove it, either. Hopefully Janos will know what to do."

Magnus shrunk into his plush form. Jennifer whistled in amazement as she studied the stitching. "It's a shame that she's such a bitch. This is art."

Raziel snorted in derision, "Let's get out of here."


	16. Magnus

Lunatic Pandora1: Yes, Magnus. I like the crazy ones.

Soul of Ashes: Lack of criticizm isn't bad, though it is also helpful. Pointing out the good parts is a way of letting someone know when they've done something right. (Yes, I know, I forget that more often than the rest of you, it seems.)

Varyssa: Know that this wasn't the first time that Janos has played the "guardian angel." He is still trying to redeem himself for the wrongs that he's committed against humanity. Though I must warn you... (Darn it, I just realised that there's something severly wrong with this.)

sigh Darn stupid writer's block, I'm going to deplete my queue again.

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

* * *

When they got back to the house, Azrael was just preparing to leave on his motorcycle. "Wait," Raziel told him. "You're going to show me where Cynthia lives. She's gone too far this time." 

After Raziel quickly explained the situation, Azrael started his bike. Raziel climbed on behind him and they were off.

Jennifer walked into the house, hoping that Raziel could handle this with a cool head. She laid Magnus on the couch and willed him into his flesh form, though he remained unconscious. Curious, Janos wandered over and gazed at the disfigured vampire.

"His name is Magnus," Jennifer told Janos. She took a breath and sighed before saying, "Kain found him in the Eternal Prison."

Janos frowned. He had read the implied meanings behind Jennifer's words. Janos pushed away the memories of his own imprisonment in the Hylden's device, and how he was the one who directed Kain to visit that place. Janos tried to say something, but he choked as the words became stuck in his suddenly dry throat.

"I've tried to do everything I could for him," Jennifer continued. "Please, maybe you could help." She stroked Magnus' temple again, careful to avoid the sharp edge where his skull had been cut away to reveal his brain.

Janos found his voice again. "How do you know about the Eternal Prison?"

Jennifer refused to meet Janos' eyes. "It was in a game."

"Why did you not tell me?" Janos asked.

"I doubted that you would want to see it," Jennifer answered, blinking away the beginning of a tear.

Janos gave off a gravelly sigh and knelt down beside Magnus. "This is Hylden magic," he spat, standing up again in revulsion.

Jennifer nodded. "The poor fool took on more than he could handle. Can you remove it?"

Janos grimaced. A quiet fury burned in his eyes. Janos took a moment to calm himself, and then laid a talon on Manus' bare shoulder. "It is done," the angel intoned.

"Thank you," Jennifer murmured as she mentally released the bonds that she had placed on Magnus.

Magnus slowly raised into consciousness. The first thing he saw when he opened his eye was Janos' kind face.

"You are lucky," Janos told the bewildered vampire. "Or maybe, not so much."

Magnus shuddered in alarm as he became aware of the transparent membrane that held his entrails from spilling everywhere. "What… They did this to me, didn't they?"

"Shhh, don't try to remember," Jennifer soothed. "It's over now."

Magnus tried to cover his face with his hand. He jerked back in alarm as he encountered the metal hooks that kept his lips peeled back. His unnecessary breath came in ragged puffs. Magnus sat up slowly, aware of the disconcerting weight of the boiler attached to his back.

Janos laid a comforting hand on Magnus' shoulder. "Try to take it easy."

Magnus nodded and shuddered slightly.

"Would you like a blanket?" Jennifer asked.

Magnus mumbled a 'thank you' and took the offered cover. He wrapped it the best he could, as the cold boiler on his back was quite bulky. Suddenly, his eye grew wide. "The leader," he said as he inhaled the scent of the blanket.

Jennifer realized her mistake. Kain had borrowed that same blanket when he had visited, and it probably still smelled like him. "He managed to survive," Jennifer told Magnus.

"Is he here?" Magnus asked, hope and excitement brightening his mangled face.

Jennifer shook her head slowly. "He comes when he sees fit, not when commanded," she paraphrased.

Jennifer knew that it wasn't strictly true. She was sure that Kain would come as soon as he heard that Magnus was here, but that was the problem. The online forum had just changed its rules. Anyone who claimed that the vampires were real was instantly banned. It was a result of the arguments that were sparked by such implausible comments. Jennifer had no way to know where Kain was now, or how to contact him.

Magnus nodded stoically. The knowledge that his leader was still alive warmed him. Magnus then sighed with weariness. "Is there some place I could rest?"

"I think you'll find the basement comfortable," Janos said, leading Magnus downstairs.

When Janos came back up, he asked Jennifer, "Why did you not completely remove his memories of what happened?"

Jennifer blew a long stream of air as she formed her answer. "What would it be like to wake up one day to discover that you're horribly deformed, but you have no idea of how or why it happened?"

Janos frowned at Jennifer. He couldn't help but imagine that she was thinking of the transformation that he had suffered while powering the device.

"I've fogged his memories," Jennifer continued, oblivious to what she had reminded Janos of. "He's vaguely aware of where he's been and what happened to him, but he'd have to concentrate to remember anything specific." Jennifer crossed her arms in frustration. "He's probably going to go mad again, anyway."

"Why do you not just restore him to the way he was?" Janos questioned. "You were able to change Raziel's appearance."

Jennifer shook her head. "Raziel did that on his own. You could pass as a human if you'd stop being so stubborn about that."

"I could not," Janos insisted.

Jennifer was about to yell at Janos when Raziel came stalking through the room. "Magnus was not alone," Raziel stated angrily.

"What?" Jennifer asked. She gasped with comprehension when Raziel held up three fingers. "Faustus, Marcus, and Sebastian," Jennifer said, each name enunciated with the dread that accompanied such a revelation.

Raziel nodded sternly. "We've got to stop them."

Jennifer thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "I'm not going with you." Before Raziel could ask why, Jennifer continued, "Marcus. I would be the chink in your armor. If he gets into my mind, he could make me force you into your plush form. You'd be helpless. Face it, I'm more of a liability than Azrael."

Raziel nodded. "I guess I'll just have to destroy them."

"Does that bother you?" Jennifer asked, sure that she already knew the answer. The obvious stare Raziel gave her confirmed that he had no regard for their lives. Jennifer sighed, "I doubt the traitors are redeemable anyway."

"Traitors?" Janos questioned.

Jennifer nodded. "If Kain's game is accurate, they all worked for the enemy." She rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, trying to remember. "Faustus claimed that he simply wanted to join the winning side, while Sebastian claimed that he's the one that cost Kain the war. I don't remember where Marcus fits into this."

"Marcus refused to join Kain's army, but he willingly went to the Sarafan after they won," Raziel said.

"I'm coming with you," Janos said, his eyes hard.

Raziel nodded. Three against one was uncomfortable odds. At least this way, he'd have someone at his back.

Raziel led Janos to Cynthia's. They followed the streets, mainly to take advantage of the warm air rising from the pavement. Raziel still had to beat his wings to stay aloft, while Janos coasted serenely above him.

They both landed on the roof of a two-story apartment building across the street from Cynthia's house. The three traitorous vampires were skulking in the shadows on the front lawn. Janos and Raziel considered their options for destroying the three traitors. Jennifer had told them that the way to kill a plushy was to destroy its body, and the way to get to the real body was the severely damage the flesh form.

Janos unexpectedly thought of something. "Raziel, where is your weapon? I have not seen it since we came to Earth."

Raziel shook his head. "Jennifer took me from one of the moments when I was separated from it." He paused in thought. Raziel knew in truth that it was the other way around; that he had been the soul of the sword in a moment when he hadn't been bonded to the wraith form that he identified with. "Really, I doubt that she was capable of summoning my twinned soul, even if she had chosen a moment when it was bonded to me."

Janos turned back to consider the traitorous vampires. "Which one is Sebastian?" he asked, remembering the expanded explanations that Jennifer and Raziel had given him.

"He's the one in the gray cloak and helmet," Raziel said.

"He's mine," Janos said, a slight growl edging his voice.

Raziel laid a restraining hand on Janos' arm. "We are not going to ambush them. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I want to challenge them before going in for the kill."

Janos gazed at Raziel. "Do you think honor means anything to them?"

Raziel shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I care about honor. You can stay up here if you want, but I have to do this my way."

Raziel lightly dropped down to the ground, leaving Janos to wait for his opportunity from the roof. Raziel took a moment to fold his wings before approaching the three vampires.

"Ah, we were hoping you would return," Sebastian said, his metallic voice grating with smugness.

Raziel noticed that Marcus had brought his hands up to the sides of his bald head. After a moment, Marcus adjusted his dark priest's robes nervously, the look of surprise clearly written on his face.

Raziel's eyes narrowed at the mind-controlling vampire. "Did you just try to control me?" Raziel asked, his voice dripping with scorn.

Faustus turned to Marcus, "I thought you said you could control minds."

"I can," Marcus said.

Faustus' eyes registered a look of shock as his mind fell to Marcus' charm, then in a blur of red he leapt at Raziel.

Raziel calmly dodged and caught Faustus' long black ponytail in one hand. He yanked the unfortunate vampire to the ground and started advancing on Marcus. "I don't appreciate your attempts to manipulate me," Raziel hissed.

Janos chose that moment to attack. He swooped down and deftly knocked Marcus to the ground without slowing his speed. Sebastian had seen the angel coming and was already running away. "Coward!" Janos yelled as he chased Sebastian around to the back of the house.

Raziel allowed himself a moment's distraction at seeing Janos' skill clearly for the first time. Marcus was twitching on the ground, severely stunned by the blow. Raziel had felt a similar attack during his battle with Janos in the Vampire Citadel. Raziel now considered the possibility that Janos had been holding back that day; it was either that, or these vampires were less durable than Raziel realized.

Raziel's mind was drawn back into the present by Faustus clawing at his hand. The pretty vampire was desperately trying to free his hair from Raziel's fist. Raziel flung Faustus on top of Marcus and summoned the fireball variation that he managed to learn. The two vampires barely had time to scream as the heat consumed their bodies, leaving nothing but ash.

Janos returned, his hands and arms covered with blood and fiberfill. He and Raziel exchanged a knowing look; all three traitors were completely destroyed. 

"We've got to stop her before she makes more," Raziel said.

Janos indicated the house with an outspread talon, "Let's go, then."


	17. Readjustment

**To those that are upset that they missed the fan invasion... I still have need for OC's in my story, and I'm also willing to have other fans show up in later chapters.**

Zaran: Congratulations. You've actually prompted me to re-read this monster. (Well, I got bored halfway through the sequel and stopped but anyway...) Yeah, as for your question about who knows about the plushies... There are people who know about the LOK characters and people who know about Jennifer's ability to make custom plushies. There are even LOK fans who know that Jennifer has made a Raziel plush. The thing is, no-one has yet made the connection that the plushy Raziel is now flesh. The only people so far who know about the living dolls are the doll mages and the plushies themselves. Hmmm... Are you serious about wanting to be in my fic?

Varyssa: And here I thought that you would be upset to see the shadows of Janos' darker side. It's fortunate that you share his opinion on the traitors.

Lunatic Pandora1: Yeah, it's for the best that they popped in and then popped back out.(None of the others would have put up with them, anyway.) I'm having trouble with the personalities of the Blood Omen 2 villians. Fortunately, a sane Magnus is almost as good as a blank slate.

Tomlette: I called my ISP because it isn't the first time someone has had trouble contacting me... They say it's your mistake, but I don't believe them.

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

* * *

Raziel wearily returned to the house alone. Janos had decided that he needed some time by himself, and so he was off flying. Even before he entered the door, Raziel had the nagging feeling that something was wrong. 

Raziel found Jennifer in Azrael's bedroom. The vampire was lying unconscious in his bed, blood seeping out through his pores. Brightflame was lying on his chest, and Jennifer was sponging the blood off his forehead. A small cut on the inside of Jennifer's arm showed that she had tried to counteract Azrael's blood loss by giving him some of her own.

"You killed her, didn't you?" Jennifer asked.

"Yes," Raziel said. "She had to be stopped."

Jennifer nodded sadly. "There's almost nothing holding him here, now."

"Are you saying that his life was tied to Cynthia's?" Raziel asked.

"Yes," Jennifer said.

"Help him," Raziel demanded, desperation creeping into his voice.

"I can't help him, not without destroying you first," Jennifer said. "I just can't tie myself to both of you at the same time. Brightflame is doing what she can."

Raziel pointed to the cut on Jennifer's arm. "You gave him your blood."

"I thought it would help," Jennifer said. "It takes a force of will to bind myself to a plushy, so I knew that wasn't a danger."

"There must be something we can do," Raziel said in frustration.

"Elzavere's in the closet, but he refuses to cooperate," Jennifer said. "Maybe you can convince him to bind himself to Azrael." When Raziel angrily stalked towards the closet, Jennifer warned, "You're not going to be able to force him."

Raziel opened the closet door to find a gangly and anemic-looking boy. He couldn't have been older than eighteen, and his fluffy blond hair reinforced his gaunt appearance.

Raziel pointed to the bed where Azrael lay. "Help him."

"I won't! I don't want anything more to do with any of you." Elzavere said.

Raziel grabbed the scrawny boy and effortlessly lifted him by his shirt collar. "Think very carefully about reconsidering," Raziel growled, borrowing one of Kain's intimidation techniques.

Elzavere struggled uselessly. "I don't care, I'm done being involved with you creatures."

Raziel snarled as he dropped Elzavere to the floor. The frightened boy scrambled to his feet and ran out the door. Raziel could see that the effort was wasted. He stomped in frustration back to stand next to the bed.

"It's no good," Brightflame said, sitting up on Azrael's chest. "There's nothing I can do." Brightflame spoke so that only Jennifer could hear her, "Can you fill the tub for me? I want to wash this blood off before it stains."

"I'm sorry, Raziel. It's just a matter of time now." Jennifer said as she picked up Brightflame and left the room.

Raziel considered his twin. Jennifer couldn't bind herself to both of them, but Raziel figured that he had already spent an uncertain amount of time bound to his own arm. He was sure that he could join himself to his other incarnation, or at least survive the attempt.

Raziel's teeth were not as sharp as when he was a vampire, but they were still capable of piercing the skin. He bit his own wrist and then held it to Azrael's mouth. Raziel found that he actually had to force his wrist against Azrael's fangs, as the wound closed too quickly. He wasn't quite sure what he was doing, but Raziel knew that he had to try. The unwelcome alternative was to watch his reflection die.

Raziel felt strange. He recalled a few random moments from when he was a vampire. He wasn't sure if these were truly his own memories, or things from Azrael's mind. Then, Raziel felt a re-awaked blood thirst well up inside of him. He removed his wrist from Azrael's mouth and shook off the predatory urge. The vampire was no longer sweating blood, but rather resting comfortably.

Jennifer came back into the room. "What did you do?" she asked Raziel. "You could've been killed," she continued, guessing what Raziel had accomplished.

"I wasn't," Raziel said, a wave of dizziness passing over him.

Jennifer steadied him and said, "You need rest. He'll be fine now."

"Is my life dependant on your survival?" Raziel asked as he lowered himself into a chair.

"I'm not sure," Jennifer said. "You are bound to me, but you're also connected to Janos and Kain, as well as Brightflame, and now Azrael. There's a good chance that you would be able to sustain each other after my death."

"Did Magnus survive?" Raziel asked, more out of curiosity than concern.

"I was able to help him. Magnus is probably the only thing that kept Azrael from dying immediately," Jennifer said.

Later, Jennifer found Janos talking to Brightflame. The little dragon's bath had done nothing more than make her stuffing wet, and so she was draped over a fan so that she could dry before she started to mold.

"Brightflame has told me everything," Janos said. "We should not have killed her."

"Cynthia was dangerous," Jennifer said. "Who do you think she would have called next?"

Janos scowled. "Another of Kain's foes. She was seeking revenge."

Jennifer nodded. "Other than Malek, I don't think she would've called the last circle. That leaves very few options." Jennifer figured that Janos would realize that she was talking about the Hylden Lord.

Janos distractedly ran one talon along Brightflame's bloodstained wings. The ragged splotches slowly disappeared. Jennifer marveled at the skill for a moment before she realized that Janos would have stopped wearing white ages ago if he didn't have a good way of keeping his robes clean.

"Why did she think that Magnus would be willing to go after Kain?" Janos asked. "He seems loyal to a fault."

"Because he had sent Kain running for his life before," Jennifer said, growing slightly uncomfortable at what she might have to tell Janos. "Magnus was very confused and didn't recognize Kain. At the same time, Magnus was nearly indestructible; he even managed to survive several unexpected baths."

"I imagine that it was because of the nature of the Eternal Prison," Janos said stiffly. His face was hardened with inner rage.

"Are you okay?" Jennifer asked hesitantly.

Janos huffed in irritation. "I was lucky that Kain returned. I assume that Magnus would still be rotting if Cynthia had not brought him out."

"Actually, Kain dropped a big, ugly statue on him. It knocked him back to his senses, but it also fatally wounded him," Jennifer said. "Anyway, what happens here does not affect what happens in Nosgoth. I could've summoned the mortal Raziel before he got to you; it wouldn't effect anything that you remember."

Janos shook his head as if clearing away a bad memory. "Are you certain that you cannot do anything for Magnus? He seems truly horrified with his appearance."

Jennifer stayed silent for a moment, mulling over the possibilities. She shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid that I don't have the power to fix him." Jennifer thought for another moment. "Perhaps… there is a way."

Though Janos heard her hesitant tone, he could not help but show his feelings of hope as he stared at Jennifer expectantly.

"You seem to know some doctors," Jennifer said. "Go talk to them and try to find out if any of them would be willing to operate on Magnus."

"Do you really think that they would be capable of restoring him?" Janos asked incredulously.

"Maybe not completely," Jennifer admitted, "but they could probably make an improvement."


	18. Reconstruction

Disclaimer: I don't own Legacy of Kain or any other identifiable pop culture references.

First, I'd like to give you people a bit of recommended reading. First off is "Restoring Balance" by Syvia. That one inspired me, but I think she handled that situation better than I did. The other one is "All of this past" by Lilitha-Star, simply because I don't think anyone has noticed it.

A/N: The song Jennifer was singing is called "Sweet Dreams," and though she's following the melody of the Eurythmics version, she's keeping more to the tempo of the Marilyn Manson version.

Zaran: Even though I'm not sure what happens in part 20, I'd estimate that you wouldn't appear until at least 23. (I gotta make this thing move faster.) I gotta warn you, Janos is more afraid of rabid fan girls than Raziel is.

RavenWolf: You've got to learn how to keep your muses under control or else you'll never get anything done.

Varyssa: Wow, you actually sound like you were worried. _**hug**_ Don't worry, I haven't saved him from heroine addiction so many times just to kill him in such a boring way.

Lunatic Pandora: I'm sure what you imagined is more interesting than what really happens. This first phase of this chunk is prompted by your comments.

* * *

Janos walked sedately into the hospital. The orderlies gave him curious looks, but did not question his presence. They were used to seeing him here, though normally it was in the company of a badly hurt child or unconscious senior citizen. A few of the hospital staff were so attuned to Janos' presence that they unconsciously stepped to the side before they realized that this wasn't an emergency, and the angel was unlikely to shove them out of the way. Janos gave them a friendly nod.

After a few moments, Janos was found by the man he was looking for. "Ah, Janos. What unfortunate person have you brought to us today?"

"Hello, Rodriguez." Janos waffled a bit, uncertain of how to answer. "I did not think it wise to bring him with me. He is a special case."

Rodriguez frowned in confusion. "If he's hurt, then we would not turn him away."

"It is an old injury," Janos sighed. "Do you know of anyone who is good with scar tissue?"

Rodriguez thought for a moment then snapped his fingers. "The new guy, Frank Williams. He might be able to help. Even if he can't, you should meet him anyway."

Janos nodded his agreement and walked with Rodriguez down the hall.

"I saw you in the tabloids recently," Rodriguez said conversationally. "Or at least they claimed it was you, but they didn't get any of the details right."

"I don't think I've done anything especially interesting since that wreck on the highway," Janos said.

Rodriguez nodded. "They must have had a very uninspired month if they are making up stories about you."

Janos shuddered slightly. "What sort of stories are they telling?"

"It was supposedly an interview," Rodriguez said. "They're trying to make people think that you are some fluff-filled angel."

Janos sighed, "I've been portrayed as a devil before. At least they are painting me in a more favorable light, even if I am not really that nice."

"You seem nicer than some people I've met," Rodriguez said. "Frank's in here."

Rodriguez opened the door to the break room and stepped inside. "Frank? I'd like to introduce you to Janos Audron. Janos, this is Frank Williams."

"You're still hung up on that legend, Rodriguez?" Frank asked, looking up from his crossword puzzle. His face froze and he dropped his pen. He gaped for a moment, and then spluttered, "You are real."

Janos gave a small, tight-lipped smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

To his credit, Dr. Williams recovered quickly from his shock. Janos spent some time describing Magnus' condition. Even though he was talking to a blue creature with large wings, Dr. Williams was inclined to believe that the explanation was exaggerated.

* * *

Raziel cautiously crept down into the basement. He was curious about who Magnus really was when he was sane. Raziel didn't want to admit it until he was sure, but he thought that perhaps Magnus was a kindred spirit of sorts.

The damaged vampire was hunched in the corner. "Go away," he moaned miserably.

Raziel frowned. He would not be put off so easily. "I only want to talk."

"Don't look at me," Magnus said. "I'm disgusting."

"Actually, I ended up looking worse than you do," Raziel smirked before letting his form settle into that of the destroyed wraith. He crouched in front of Magnus. Raziel no longer felt the keen revulsion for his own ravaged body. Of course, he would rather be handsome, but his true form was still good for when he needed the shock value.

Magnus eyed Raziel curiously. He shuddered as Raziel's lack of stomach reminded him of the precarious situation his own entrails were in. Magnus stared at Raziel's scarf. "Why do you…" Magnus stopped as his searching gaze fell on Raziel's hollow pelvis. "Never mind." Magnus decided that he didn't want to know what would cause a creature to conceal his face while leaving that area exposed, even if there was nothing personal left.

Raziel let his appearance settle back into his human guise. "You could learn how to do this."

Magnus remembered that Kain had a similar ability. They had been hunting together, and Magnus was surprised to see Kain casually stroll up to some saucy wench and talk to her conversationally before draining her of blood. Magnus knew that the trick was less than an illusion, and wouldn't help him in this case. He shook his head glumly.

Raziel sighed and held out a hand. At least let me try to get that chain off you.

Magnus slowly rose and sat down at the crude table. Raziel fished a saw out of the toolbox and set to work on the thick manacle.

"What happened to you?" Magnus asked hesitantly.

Raziel kept sawing smoothly at Magnus' shackle. He had been expecting a question like this, but he was still trying to think of the easiest way to say it.

"It was by Kain's command," Raziel began. He was about to continue when Magnus wrenched his wrist away from Raziel's grasp.

"Are you another traitor?" Magnus asked in revulsion.

Raziel growled in annoyance. "I was executed in a manner that was befitting to one, but I was his most loyal lieutenant.

"Then why would he do such a thing?" Magnus asked in worried confusion.

Raziel started sawing again at Magnus' chain. "Kain thought that he could use me to change destiny. He was right, at least when it came to his own. It was fortunate that he managed to persuade me against killing him."

Magnus jerked his wrist away again in horror. This time, the saw skipped against his arm, but the wound remained open only for a moment.

In frustration, Raziel grabbed Magnus' shackle and twisted it. The weakened metal snapped easily. Magnus gulped nervously, suddenly deciding that Raziel was stronger than he looked.

"I don't regret hating him any more than I regret loving him," Raziel said heatedly. He stopped, unable to put his emotions into words.

Magnus rubbed his newly exposed wrist uncomfortably. He wasn't quite sure what to make of his new acquaintance.

"Shall we see if I can get that furnace off your back?" Raziel asked, trying to shake off the bad feelings that their conversation had stirred up.

Magnus nodded nervously. Raziel ran his fingers around the seams in the boiler, trying to see how it was attached. In places, it seemed that Magnus' skin had grown around the foreign metal, incorporating it into his body. Cautiously, Raziel loosened one of the bolts that held the boiler together. He tugged at it, only to get a scream of pain from Magnus.

Raziel immediately stopped, letting his hands drop to his sides. He could easily torture anyone he pleased, but he didn't want to cause Magnus any more agony.

Magnus sat with his bottom lip quivering. He was dimly aware that he had suffered far worse, but it wasn't the pain that was bothering him. Fogged memories of the experiments that he had endured plagued Magnus' thoughts.

Later the next evening, Dr. Williams showed up. He almost shrunk back in terror when he saw Magnus. He had not believed it when Janos hold told him that someone had tried to dissect his patient. To his credit, Dr. Williams collected himself quickly and began to examine Magnus with detached clinical interest.

Now it was Magnus' turn to recoil in terror. He suffered flashes of memory where the jailers had examined him with the same cold actions.

At great risk to herself, Jennifer grabbed onto the frightened vampire and forced him into unconsciousness. She grimaced in an expression of her torn emotions.

It was Dr. Williams that gave voice to some of those emotions. "I will not operate on an unwilling patient."

"He wants to be restored," Janos calmly insisted.

"Have you ever had to examine someone who had been the victim of abuse?" Jennifer questioned quietly. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "I can keep Magnus unconscious. Do what you need to do." Jennifer shuddered slightly. She was suffering from the same moral conflict as the doctor, but she had already leapt to the rational conclusion without dealing with the emotional side.

After a brief pre-examination, Dr Williams complained. "This room is full of germs. I can't operate on him here. An infection could kill him."

"The ones who did this to him had no concept of germs," Janos affirmed. "He cannot die of an infection."

Dr. Williams removed the hooks that had held Magnus' flayed skin in place for so long. He quickly discovered that any fresh cut on Magnus' body would heal within minutes. He used that knowledge to his advantage as he sliced through the healed flesh at the edges of Magnus' wound. The fresh cuts would then re-knit together when held against each other. It was in this way that Dr. Williams reconstructed Magnus' body.

Raziel glanced up at Jennifer. He noticed that the skin around her lips had gone pale like that of a hungry fledgling.  
Jennifer was singing very quietly, "Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree, travel the world and the seven seas, everybody's looking for something."

Raziel sensed that the operation was severely disturbing to Jennifer, and that she was attempting to distract herself from what was happening. Only part of her attention would be consumed by keeping Magnus under control. From what Raziel could tell, the song that Jennifer was singing only had eight lines. Still, Raziel could tell that Jennifer was becoming more disturbed by the second. The whiteness that had surrounded her lips had spread to her entire face, and she was no longer murmuring the song.

Dr. Williams ceased his work for a moment and said, "Let him wake up, I want to see how he's feeling." The doctor took one look at Jennifer's glazed expression. "You should take her out for some air."

Raziel half-carried Jennifer through the door that led directly outside. He allowed himself a small measure of concern. If he hadn't known that Jennifer was fully recovered from her recent bloodletting, he would have sworn that someone had completely drained her.

"Jennifer," Raziel said, gently shaking the girl.

Jennifer knotted her fists in Raziel's shirt. "There's only so much that I can take," she said, a slight tremor creeping into her voice.

"This is coming from a woman who can giggle during a slasher film," Raziel smirked.

Jennifer breathed a shuddering sigh against Raziel's chest. "Those aren't real."

Raziel rubbed Jennifer's back. When she had recovered a little, Jennifer pulled away so that she could look at Raziel. He was pleased to see that some of the color had crept back into Jennifer's face.

"Are you ready to go back in?" Raziel asked gently.

"Yeah," Jennifer breathed.

When they walked back down into the basement, they saw that Janos was holding a struggling Magnus.

"I've told you, your blood thirst is only in your mind," Janos said, doubling his efforts to hold onto Magnus. The boiler kept him from getting a good grip. He yelled in surprise and pain as Magnus bit into his wrist.

Raziel leapt in and helped Janos wrestle Magnus to the floor. Janos rubbed his wrist, though the wound had already closed. Magnus lapped at his fangs, though most of the blood had spilled down his face.

Since Magnus was under control, Jennifer asked the Doctor, "What do you want to do now?"

Dr. Williams gulped nervously and said, "He seems to be handling the surgery rather well. If you'd be kind enough to do whatever it is you do to make him sleep, I'd like to continue."

Magnus sagged into unconsciousness again. After several intense hours, Dr. Williams managed to remove the boiler and encourage the skin to seal over all of Magnus' wounds.

"I do not want to be standing over him when he wakes up again," Dr. Williams said.

"We will take care of him now," Janos said, understanding the doctor's hesitation.

Jennifer led Dr. Williams into the kitchen. Even though he had developed a deathly fear of his vampiric patient, he was unwilling to completely leave until he was sure that everything was going smoothly. After a few muffled thumps, Janos came up the stairs so that he could thank Dr. Williams and assure him that Magnus would be just fine.


	19. Randomness

**Warning: Spoilers in the Disclaimer.** _I don't own the rights to anything LOK related. I also don't own Sesame Street. I also don't own the voice actors. (I know about the rule against putting real living actors in a fan-fiction, but since I'm only talking about them and things that they've actually done, instead of physically putting them into a false situation, I think I should be able to get away with it.) On that note, I would apologize to Michael Bell for all the comments that I made about him, except that if I were truly sorry, then I wouldn't do it. So I hope that he and the rest of the actors have enough of a sense of humor about themselves to be able to put up with the existence of this fic._

**Another Note:** I am suffering from a terrible block, among other things. While I think that trying to make Janos do something that he didn't want to do was a contributing factor, that doesn't explain why my other projects are giving me problems. Though I'm going to do what I can to keep this fic from dying, the next chapter is probably going to suffer from a delay whilst I struggle with a different project. I'm not holding out for more reviews, but they do cheer me up. **Also, since Iwas trying to tie this story off, any new fan-invasion requests might not get granted.**

_Varyssa: How about this... Nevermind, even I'm not that cruel. _

_Lunatic Pandora1: It's something that needed to be done. I do have parts ofwhat Janos is doing in my head, it's just that I rarely find them interesting enough to insert into the story. _

_Zaran: Oops. Sorry about the rabid comment. Hopefully I'll guess your gender correctly or else I'll be embarrassed again. _

_Northstar1982: A lot of people seem to pegg my story as something stupid. Oh well, it's their loss because I can't think of any better way to describe it. _

* * *

Jennifer cautiously crept halfway down the stairs and called softly, "Magnus, I've got some clothes for you."

Magnus slowly stepped out of the shadows. He was no longer limping ungainly, but instead carried himself like a proud warrior. Jagged white scars crisscrossed his ivory skin. They shone brightly where the light hit Magnus' scalp. The metal eye patch had been removed, so his bright yellow eye was balanced with a hollow socket. "Why don't you come closer, my dear?" he purred.

Jennifer started trembling. Something in his tone had reminded her of just how edible she was. "Stay back!" Jennifer yelled as she threw the clothes at Magnus. She bolted back up the stairs and slammed the door.

Magnus frowned. He didn't think that he deserved to be treated like that. He picked up one of the boots. They were soft, and had been well used, but it was still an insult to be hit with them. Magnus set aside the shoes and found the pants.

Magnus cast off his ragged trousers and dressed himself. The pants were black, and in a course material. It was a pleasant surprise to find how comfortable they were. The shirt had short sleeves and was also black, but it had some sort of writing on it. Magnus struggled for a moment with the barely-recognizable characters, until he figured out that it said, 'Runs with Scissors.' Magnus puzzled over this while he shrugged into the shirt.

After Magnus stamped into the boots, he looked over some of the leftover articles of clothing. There was a dark-blue fleece hat, and an eye patch. Magnus checked his reflection in a tarnished mirror and decided that though he didn't necessarily need the hat, he probably should wear the eye patch.

Magnus climbed up the stairs. He cautiously opened the door and made his way through the house. Jennifer saw him as he was coming down the hallway.

"Don't come any closer," Jennifer said stiffly as she summoned a ball of violet energy.

"I don't intend to," Magnus said, indicating the sunlight slanting through a window.

Azrael came up behind Jennifer and gently squeezed past her. "She is not to be harmed," Azrael told Magnus.

"Why should I listen to you?" Magnus asked.

"I heard that you once served Lord Kain," Azrael said smoothly.

"If I had the chance, I still would," Magnus said proudly. "I was his best."

"Was," Azrael said with a sneer. "You've been demoted. I am his second-in-command, and you will follow my orders."

Magnus scowled with his good eye. "I don't believe you. I won't follow you unless the Leader says otherwise."

Azrael's cool gaze turned sinister. With supernatural speed, Azrael leapt on Magnus and knocked him to the floor.

"Careful!" Jennifer screamed at Azrael. "He just healed. I don't want him hurt again so quickly."

Magnus struggled a little, but then went limp in submission.

"If you harm Jennifer in any way, or even threaten her, I will spend the next month slowly removing every inch of skin from your body," Azrael hissed with cold authority. He then released Magnus and walked away.

Magnus just sat there on the floor. Finally, he said, "No wonder I was beaten. I am weak."

"You just have a habit of taking on more than you can handle," Jennifer said. She walked towards Magnus, but stopped in the pool of sunlight. "Azrael is much older and more powerful than Kain was when he was your master. You and Azrael both served the same function, but Azrael probably didn't do anything reckless like you did. Kain would not fault you for listening to Azrael or Raziel."

"But Raziel once tried to kill the Leader," Magnus argued.

"Actually, it was several times, but most of it was what Kain wanted," Jennifer said. She then turned to walk away. "You can stay in the basement as long as you want."

* * *

Jennifer and Raziel sat on the couch watching Stargate. Raziel frowned as he stared at the screen in confusion. "There's something familiar about that guy." 

"What do you mean?" Jennifer asked.

"I can't quite put my finger on it," Raziel said, his frown deepening. Then he noticed the very strange look that Jennifer was giving him.

"That's Rene Aber…" Jennifer groped in the air as if trying to grab the missing syllables, but then gave up. "Anyway, he's Janos' voice actor."

Raziel stared at the screen for a long moment, confusion still lining his features. "I thought that the games were made with computers."

"They use real people to do the voices," Jennifer explained.

"That guy doesn't sound like Janos," Raziel said.

"Most people can change their voice at least a little bit. He's better at it than some of the others." Jennifer said. She stared at the television for a moment before saying, "I'm actually surprised that you recognized him and not Tony Jay."

"Why would I recognize him?" Raziel asked.

"Well, it's almost always obvious when it's him. He did Mortainius in Blood Omen, then later he voiced the squid," Jennifer said. "You did not seem to notice it."

"He sounded like Mortainius," Raziel mused.

"Yeah, but you also didn't hear it when he voiced that beholder, or in those Civil War documentaries," Jennifer pointed out.

Just then, Janos came wandering into the room. He glanced at the television in mild half-interest and asked, "What are you watching?"

"Stargate," Raziel said.

"Is this based off of reality, or another made-up story?" Janos questioned.

"It's fictional," Raziel answered.

Janos nodded in satisfaction and wandered into the kitchen. Raziel turned to Jennifer, who was turning red from trying not to burst out laughing. Raziel wondered just how long she could go without breathing.

Jennifer regained her composure just long enough to draw a shuddering breath before her shoulders started shaking again. Raziel huffed in impatience. Janos had obviously seen his supposed voice actor without noticing anything out of the ordinary.

After several minutes, Jennifer calmed down enough to speak without bursting into laughter. "He didn't see it," she quietly squeaked.

"Because there's nothing to see," Raziel said. "You can stop with the joke, it's not funny."

Jennifer sobered instantly. "It's not a joke. There's proof on the discs."

"You're not to try it on anyone else," Raziel said sternly, still not believing.

The next morning, Jennifer found Raziel watching the outtakes. He was staring at the screen with a singularly offended gaze.

Jennifer made some noises as if she was going to say something, but she wasn't sure what to say.

"It isn't that he's 'a sixty-year-old cocker' as he so elegantly put it," Raziel said, waving a hand at the screen. "He's a complete lunatic."

Jennifer grinned nervously. "How much have you seen?"

"All of it," Raziel said, ejecting the disc from the machine. Instead of following his urge to snap it in half, he carefully pressed the disc back into its case.

"Are you going to be all right?" Jennifer questioned.

"I've discovered far worse things than this," Raziel said. Still, he gave the boxes a sour look before setting them back on the shelf.

"Raziel," Jennifer said sternly, "he's one of the most talented voice actors available."

Raziel snorted lightly. "Am I supposed to feel honored? He's still crazy."

"All that angst would have driven anyone nuts," Jennifer huffed. "Any normal person, that is."

Raziel decided to end the argument. "You're not to show this to anyone else. I know Janos doesn't like it when we keep things from him, but I don't think that he should see it."

"I don't think he'd believe it, anyway. He's stubborn about things like that," Jennifer said.

* * *

Several days later, Raziel tagged along with Jennifer as she went to the fabric store. She had gotten an order for more D&D monsters. The shopkeeper had said that the beholders and displacer beasts were selling well, but the vargouilles were not. He had ordered some new monsters instead. The new creatures were ethereal marauders, rust monsters, and gnolls. 

Raziel quickly became bored and amused himself by examining the different types of buttons that were available. Fortunately, Jennifer quickly found what she needed. Raziel stared at one of her shopping bags curiously. It contained a great amount of blue, shaggy fur. Raziel knew that it wasn't for any of the monsters on the list.

"What's the fur for?" Raziel questioned.

"I'm going to make a coat," Jennifer said gleefully. "I once watched a kids' show about a lady that was looking for a furry, blue coat. The clerk kept bringing her furry coats and blue coats, but there weren't any furry, blue coats. Then Cookie Monster wandered in and the lady was delighted. She wrapped his arms around herself and told the clerk to put it on her charge account. Both Cookie Monster and the clerk were so dumbfounded that they didn't have a chance to tell her that he wasn't a coat. This fur is exactly the right color and texture."

Raziel stared at Jennifer for a long moment, trying to think of a way to respond to that. Finally, he asked, "Who was Cookie Monster?"

Jennifer thought for a moment. "The show was called, 'Sesame Street,' and instead of hiding in dark places like in closets and under the bed, the monsters would walk freely through the street and have the same simple problems that kids have. Cookie Monster loved cookies, and he would eat them every chance he got."

"Why use monsters at all if they're not going to act monstrous?" Raziel asked.

"That was part of the point. They wanted to show the kids that there was nothing to be afraid of." Jennifer thought for a moment. "That's really an unhealthy attitude."

Raziel nodded in agreement. "In Nosgoth, I happened to notice that parents took great efforts to make sure that their children were afraid of us."

"But that was a world were dangerous things did go bump in the night," Jennifer said. She then noticed a toy store. "Hey, I could show you exactly what Cookie Monster looks like."

They walked into the toy store and Jennifer quickly found the right isle. "Let's see… Elmo, Elmo, I hate Elmo," she muttered to herself.

Raziel eyed the little red monster, "Why?"

"I quit watching Sesame Street when he was just Tellie's little cousin from out-of-town," Jennifer said. "Now he seems more important than Kermit." Jennifer picked up a Cookie Monster doll. "His eyes don't googol. How is he supposed to be able to do the googol bugle if his eyes don't googol?"

Raziel shuddered and quickly walked out of the store, forcing Jennifer into a jog to keep up with him. Raziel noticed that whenever Jennifer talked about her childhood, she would temporarily regress in maturity.

"Sorry, I forgot that you were never a kid," Jennifer panted.

"It's not that," Raziel said. "It's just a little bit scary when you start acting like a child."

Jennifer stuck her tongue out at Raziel. It was immature, but also a small act of defiance against his sensibilities.


	20. Giving Up

Febuary 15 2005 Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to LOK or any other pop-culture references.

Smoke: Hey all. I've got a major block that just won't move on this one, (it's been there since at least the fourth of December,) so I'm deciding to give up. If you're interested in the block's name, it's called "Janos Audron's general stubbornness."

Janos: I resent that.

Smoke: Shaddap. If you had simply cooperated, I wouldn't be in this mess.

Raziel: Stop blaming Janos for your failings.

Smoke: Quiet or I'll force you to listen to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Raziel: Not that!

Smoke: Anyway, I never designed this story to have an end, and now I can't think of one. (Actually, I found a fragment titled, "Sucker for a Happy Ending." Basically, they're talking about the ending of a game where one of the dead characters really had survived.) I might put random bits of it up in my DevArt account and link to them from my profile page.

Kain: You say that, but I don't think you mean that.

Smoke: The text that follows the review responses is the skeletal form of the rest of my ideas. There are bits of flesh as well. Oddly enough, I think that this is the first time that I've done a skeleton for this story. (Nevermind, I found one dated mid-July. I think that's about the time I was starting the sequal.)

* * *

darkangelswings: Okay, now I feel bad; I was busy with my "giving up" project just as you were gushing about it. Not to worry, I've got other things in the works. I might even decide to write one of those ridiculus stories where the characters get drunk for no reason. 

Soul of Ashes: Sometimes it is good to lend pieces of your own experience to characters. I think I did it a little too often with Jennifer, she became my idealised alter-ego. As far as a good direction, it lead my straight into a brick wall. :D As far as the borrowed OC, I might find somewhere to stick him.

Kyrial: Glad you liked it. Read the skeletal form if you like, you'll see that it becomes a tangled mess. :)

Lunatic Pandora1: Magnus was going to get scaryer. First time I was playing BO2, I was like, "Oh squid!"

Zaran: Creepy? I guess muppets can be scary. About your questions on "Playing Games," it was included in the story, (Chapter 10,) it's just that it got really long so I stripped it down to only the neccessary elements. The one you read is the full version.

Varyssa: Magnus wasn't hurt by getting hit with the boots, so no worries. As far as Raziel's opinions, he does have some rather strange ones.

Northstar1982: I'm glad you liked it. It's a shame, really that I can't get it to move anymore.

* * *

**The rest of Razzy Plush: Skeletal version**

Janos completely loses the last traces of his former beliefs. Sometime also during this time, he finally gives in to his urges and sleeps with Diana. (Diana is a fortuneteller that Janos is friends with. I keep trying to find an actual appearance for her but it never works.) I was also thinking that Janos would finally concede to disguising himself as a human. And then maybe Jennifer, Raziel, Janos, and Diana could all go out for sushi so I could do a round of calamari jokes. There's also something that I named "The Cherub Joke." (That one is uploaded off-site.)

There are two events that I couldn't decide which should happen first; Za's visit or Kurt's.

Zaran was going to show up and remember that Jennifer had once made Razzy plush dolls. Raziel gets upset because Jennifer had made some of those dolls for other people. She doesn't tell him that she didn't do it for free. I absolutely couldn't find a place for Janos in this or get him to leave temporarily.

Kurt Wagner was going to show up on Jennifer's doorstep. (Yes, that one, complete with his hologram.) The back-story on that one was that Jennifer had made a non-living plushy for a major Nightcrawler fan. The fact that he has come to life makes Jennifer question if her DD monsters could also come to life. "Raziel, you've played Balder's Gate; you know what Beholders and Displacer Beasts can be like." She can't decide if it was accidental from her magic, or something that Kurt's owner did. Kurt's watch also gets broken, but Jennifer manages to trick him into thinking that she fixed it because he really disguises himself with the same method as Raziel. Kurt is mildly surprised that Jennifer isn't scared of his appearance, but he recognizes the fear when Jennifer talks to Magnus. Magnus mentions that there's nothing interesting to eat in the refrigerator, subtitle hints that he'd like to feed off of Jennifer. Azrael scares Jennifer by tossing the Vargouille plush into her lap while she's not looking. That plush ends up getting pinned to the wall with a dagger. Jennifer decides to never make another plushy, living or otherwise. Kurt gets to talk to Janos, and the conversation ends by them talking about how they wish they had met each other years ago. Kurt leaves because he promised that he would return to his fangirl, even though he's not fond of her attention.

Minor story point: Jennifer accidentally gets some glass embedded in her hand. Raziel gets it out with his tongue. Raziel admits to Jennifer that because of the bond he gained with Azrael when he saved his life, he occasionally feels a bloodthirst. However, tasting blood has lost its appeal.

Another minor story point: Jennifer has to ride with Azrael on his motorcycle, but he drives like a bat out of hell and Jennifer almost faints from fear. "It's called dead-man's curve for a reason, you maniac!"

Someone brought Raziel's brothers out of the game as well. Melchia was going to show up first, but no one realized who he was at first because he was human and he was going by a different name. There's a part with him getting freaked out at hearing about or meeting Janos. Melchia had come through as a vampire, but another dollmage took pity on him and pushed his memories and appearance back. He wanders off again, but I'm not sure what he knows now.

A couple of chapters afterward, Turel and Zephon would show up in their lieutenant forms, though they remember Raziel's execution. Turel explains how Melchia got turned into a human, Rahab wandered off somewhere, and Dumah met with a nasty accident. Raziel makes a crack about how killing Turel again would be boring.

Another recurring theme would be the cats and their antics. They were supposed to be used to talk about predatory instincts, the nature of evil, and mistakes about what is divine. There would also be other things, but I can't think of a good way to express them right now.

About this point, I was going to make another major break and call it "Razzy Plush Part Three." Since Jennifer no longer makes plushies, she's turned to making custom clothing, mostly cosplay outfits.

Azrael goes into evolutionary hibernation and gains his wings. His loyalty to Kain is shaken as he wonders if jealousy had any role in his future self's execution.

Magnus discovers that there are non-Nosgoth vampires in the world and about half a dozen of them come to live with him in Jennifer's basement. She's definitely not happy about this, but they don't recognize her authority to kick them out. Originally, they were going to be the world's native vampires, but they would have noticed the Nosgoth vampires sooner if they were. I changed them to Masquerade-type vampires. The freaky part about this was that they started out as real people, but the personality of their role-play characters overrided. Jennifer's upset because she realizes the harm that cosplay could cause, and that she can't sew at all even though it's what she loves.

Kain returns to Jennifer's one morning. He has found his surviving sons and knows about the masqueraders, though he is surprised to find some nesting in her basement. He's even more surprised to see Magnus. Kain is not on good terms with the masqueraders, though the ones in the basement are willing to truce.

(Back when I was going to use real vampires instead of masqueraders, Kain was going to steal someone else's childe so he could have a servant among them. Their weaknesses and social structure would have been similar to the masqueraders, except that superstitions have real power against them. A holy symbol with a will behind it would repel them, and they couldn't enter a home uninvited. That rule would have kept them limited to the basement, because that area is has informally been given to Magnus. Also because of the strict superstition, Kain dragged Jennifer out of bed at a godforsaken hour. She had been sleeping in the nude, and Kain was so concerned about his foundling that he dragged Jennifer all the way to the back door before handing her a robe. Kain also had a few tense moments when his foundling had already been taken into the basement haven by another vampire. Because Jennifer is generally non-religious, the pendant she kept with her as protection was the SR2 symbol for light. In the event that it wasn't strong enough to deter the vampires, it also contained a flare spell powerful enough to reduce them to ash.)

Azrael is unwilling to go near Kain because he's still haunted by what his sire might do. Azrael decides to go live with Raven, who had finally gotten a place where she could keep Azrael.

Deleted material: Jennifer was going to be attacked by a werewolf. The remnants of that day are in the final chapter of the first half of the Razzy plush story. I took it out because I felt that putting that on top of the vampires in the basement arc would make the story collapse. I am trying to create a set of original characters that can play out that part of the story.

After things had settled down again, Jennifer falls prey to some bizarre illness. It acts like a stroke, but it's not something that the doctors can identify. Though I never explain it in the story, it's a neuro-degeneration that runs in Jennifer's family. In most cases it causes insanity. The disease doesn't affect her all the time. Jennifer's version of the disease causes the left side of her body to go numb. She'll occasionally fall over because her leg won't support her. Jennifer carries a staff with her so that she'd still be able to walk. She is able to hold things, but she can't be sure how tightly she is holding something.

Raziel wonders if he is somehow the cause of Jennifer's illness, so he goes away for a while. He has a few random adventures and ends up coming back. Maybe he'll talk about his disappointment when he goes to Crystal Dynamics and discovers that his creator isn't there.

And that's where I suddenly run out of ideas. Like I said, I never designed this story to have an end. If I feel the urge to actually write out any random adventures that are based off of this story, I think I'll post them on my DevArt account and link to them from my profile page.


	21. An old scrap

As some of may or may not know, Soap Lady has ressurected the Plush Universe in a brand new story involving Kain. (It's number 3242997 . Forget about this incomplete scrap, go read and review it right now.)

It's thanks to her effort that I decided to go through my archives, where I discovered this incomplete scrap from December 2004. It's unfinished, unchanged from when I lost steam and gave up.

* * *

Late one afternoon, there was a knock at the door. Jennifer opened it to find a woman and a young boy standing on her porch. The boy was completely involved with the gameboy in his hand.

"Hello?" Jennifer asked apprehensively.

"We have never met, but I believe you know me as Zaran," the woman said.

Recognition lit in Jennifer's eyes. "Yes, we've talked online." She stepped out onto the porch. "What brings you here?"

"It wasn't easy," Zaran said. "Chris still had your old address, and the landlord gave me your new address, as well as some mail that didn't get redirected."

Jennifer took the offered envelopes. "Why are you stalking me?"

"Because Raziel and Janos are living with you. Kakarot told me about it." Zaran said.

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Figures. By the way, who's the kid?"

Zaran gave the boy a distasteful look. "It turns out that I've got an aunt in town, so I decided to visit her so I could come here. Greg's my cousin, and I couldn't leave the house without dragging him along."

"Wait here," Jennifer said, "I'll see if Raziel wants to meet you. He's not fond of rabid fangirls, but he won't hurt you if you're nice."

"I'm not rabid," Zaran pouted. "What about Janos?"

Jennifer shrugged. "I'm not sure where he goes, but he's not here at the moment."

When Raziel came out, Zaran said, "You don't look anything like what I imagined."

"I am Raziel," he said.

Zaran's face lifted when she heard his voice. "How did you manage to change your appearance?"

Raziel shrugged "It's something that I picked up. I can't do much in this world as a wraith."

They left Zaran's cousin sitting in the parlor with his gameboy and went out to the garden to chat. For a while, their conversation was no different than ones that Raziel had with other fans.

"You know, Jennifer used to have a little plushy of your wraith form," Zaran pondered. "Have you seen it?"

Raziel considered how best to answer that for a moment. "Yes," he said confidently.

"Do you know where it is now?" Zaran asked.

Raziel waffled uncomfortably.

Zaran apparently did not notice Raziel's hesitations. "I tried using the patterns that she uploaded to make my own, but I'm hopeless at sewing."

That got Raziel's attention. "What do you mean, you tried using the pattern?" he demanded.

Zaran smiled. "Everyone was jealous that Jennifer had managed to make a plushy. She made a couple for other people, but the company told her to stop. They didn't have any problem with her sharing the pattern, though."

Raziel shuddered and lost control of his form.

"What's wrong?" Zaran asked.

"It's nothing," Raziel said. "I just have trouble maintaining that handsome disguise sometimes."

"You know, your wraith form has its own charms," Zaran said. She pondered for a moment. "How did you manage to get out of Nosgoth, anyway?"

Raziel shook his head. "I have to take care of something. If you'll excuse me…"

"Of course," Zaran said. She watched Raziel as he quickly walked away.

Raziel found Jennifer in the kitchen. "Zaran just told me that you made other plushies of me and gave them to people," he said angrily.

Jennifer turned off the burners on the stove. She wasn't sure if Raziel was in his wraith form deliberately or because of his emotional state, but she decided not to upset him further by telling him that she'd sold the plushies instead of simply giving them away.

"I didn't know at the time that I could pull you out of the game when I did it," Jennifer explained calmly. "I had you for months before I even dreamed of trying it."

"How many others are there?" Raziel asked testily.

Jennifer thought for a moment. "Four," Jennifer said then she reconsidered. "Wait, one of them never got finished, and the other one was a different character that was supposed to look almost exactly like you."

"So there are two others out there," Raziel said, slouching against the counter.

"By my hand," Jennifer said, sensing that she was going to make Raziel upset again. "I'm not sure how many people got a hold of the pattern before I pulled it off the net. I know there was at least one."

Though Raziel's head was tilted slightly away from her, Jennifer could sense that the wraith had turned his focus directly at her. Jennifer couldn't remember any other time when the gaze from those glowing sockets had unnerved her.

"I'm sorry, Raziel."

Raziel lifted his head so that he was staring directly at Jennifer. "For what, exactly?"

Jennifer took a deep breath. "For the other plushies, for bringing you here, I'm not sure." Jennifer tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "For the way I've treated you."

Raziel gently clasped Jennifer's shoulders. "You've been the kinder to me than most of the people I've met. As for the other plushies, that was a mistake, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Jennifer said, meeting Raziel's gaze.

Raziel stepped back from Jennifer. "I suppose that there's nothing to be done, now. What are the chances that those others could become sentient?"

Jennifer blinked in surprise as she thought about this. "I'm really not sure. It might be that a person could only call a plushy that they sewed themselves. I've never tried it."

Raziel shifted back into his human form. The half-cooked meal forgotten, he and Jennifer walked back outside to find Zaran talking with Azrael. Raziel noticed Azrael's mischievous grin.

"Don't even think of it," Raziel warned the vampire.

"What?" Azrael asked innocently.

"I know what you are thinking; I can see it on your face," Raziel said.

"What I think is my own business," Azrael retorted.

"Not when you're going to act on it," Raziel insisted. "I can sense your hunger."

Zaran backed away suddenly and turned to Jennifer. "I thought you said that Raziel wasn't likely to hurt me."

"The wraith probably wouldn't, but Azrael might," Jennifer said.

"I only wanted a taste," Azrael insisted.

"You don't need blood," Raziel said firmly.

"Need has nothing to do with desire," Azrael said. "Don't you ever crave it?"

"No," Raziel said.

"I was getting jealous that you have two of them," Zaran said, "but I think that I'm glad that they're your problem."

Jennifer nodded. "It's even worse when Kain drops by. Fortunately, he doesn't stay very long or that often."

"They're plushies, aren't they?" Zaran asked.

Everyone stared at her in shocked silence. After a moment, Azrael declared, "I am not a plushy," and stomped away.

"What makes you say that, Za?" Jennifer asked uncomfortably.

"You had a Raziel plush, but now it's not around. The fact that Raziel got very uncomfortable when I mentioned it leads me to believe that he knows that he's that plush," Zaran said confidently.

Jennifer opened her mouth in an effort to contradict Zaran, but Raziel laid a hand on Jennifer's shoulder.

"It's true," Raziel said.

"Wow," Zaran said. "What about Azrael?"

"He's a plush, even though he denies it. They all are," Jennifer said in surrender.

They all went inside as Jennifer and Raziel explained a bit more about the strange situation. Brightflame had been in a state of hibernation so that she would look like an ordinary stuffed dragon, but at Jennifer's invitation she joined in the conversation.

"Don't bring it up around Janos," Jennifer added as an end to the account. "He's very uncomfortable about that."

"I can imagine," Zaran said. "It's still amazing. No wonder you've taken down the link to the photos and the pattern."

Jennifer nodded. "I can't keep people like you from remembering, but I can keep the new fanatics from having all the pieces."

"I suppose that I can't beg you to make a plushy for me," Zaran said sadly.

"Why?" Jennifer asked, grimacing a little.

"Well, if Janos is a plush, that means that you must know how to do him." Zaran blushed. "I don't want the real thing, but I would love to have a Janos doll to snuggle."

Jennifer grinned nervously. "You'd have to talk to him to see if it's okay."

Zaran squeaked. "I couldn't do that."

Raziel stared at Zaran. "You like him, don't you?"

Zaran was saved from having to answer that question when her cousin came into the room and said, "Can we go soon? My batteries are dead."

"This is more important than Pokemon," Zaran said angrily.

Raziel grabbed something off of Greg's jacket. "What's this?" he asked, holding a tiny stuffed creature.

"That's a Squirtle," Greg said, "It's my favorite Pokemon."

Raziel gave Jennifer an odd look. "You were wondering if you could pull a character into another person's plushy."

Jennifer's eyes widened in shock. "Raziel, no."

"What's going on?" Greg quietly asked.

"Jennifer can bring video game characters to life," Zaran explained to him. She turned to Jennifer. "Personally, I'd love to see how you do it."

Jennifer rooted around in a drawer for some batteries and handed them to Zaran's cousin. "I'm not sure if I could do it with a Pokemon, and even if I could, I'm not sure if I should."

"I imagine that you could do it," Brightflame commented.

Greg's eyes were alight. "I would do anything for a real-live Squirtle!"

Jennifer shrunk back under the weight of three intense gazes. Finally, she asked, "Do you have any pets, Greg?"

"I had a dog, but he got too old," Greg said sadly.

"You are to treat the Pokemon as you would a real pet," Jennifer said.

"I promise," Greg said enthusiastically.

Jennifer took the miniature Squirtle from Raziel and pulled some hairs from her head. She also took hair from Zaran and Greg. "This will give you control over the plush," Jennifer explained. "Za, I leave it to you to take the Squirtle if Greg can't care for it."

"Okay," Zaran said, though the thought of taking care of a pokemon didn't appeal to her.


End file.
